
Book 



, M^ 



CQEXRIGRT DEPOSFT. 



UNITY AND ROME 



^n^^ 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO.. Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OP CANADA, Lm 

TORONTO 



UNITY AND ROME 



BY 

EDMUND SMITH MIDDLETON, D.D, 



u 



iflew l^orF? 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1922 
All rights reserved 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO.. Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OP CANADA, Lm 

TORONTO 



UNITY AND ROME 



BY 

EDMUND SMITH MIDDLETON, D.D 



u 



mew 13otft 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1922 
All rights reserved 



3X512-1 



Copyright, 1922, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Set up and printed. Published November, 1922 



FEINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA 






^ 

3 



To 

Saint Peter 

Prustce of the Apostles 

To Whom Christ Gave 

The Keys of the Kii^gdom of Heaveist 

This Volume 

Is Humbly Dedicated 

By 

The Author 



PREFACE 

The author, in undertaking the present volume, has 
had in mind the varying reception with which the terms 
of re-union, as recently proposed at Lambeth, have been 
received — a lack of agreement voicing itself on both sides 
of the ecclesiastical fence. Denominational Christians, 
who threw off government by Bishops at the Reformation, 
are quite naturally refusing to accept now what they 
rejected then. The general attitude of the reformers, 
however, went further than a mere rejection of "prelacy.'^ 
Their position included some very radical changes re- 
garding the nature of the ministry itself. They rejected 
priesthood and sacrifice in the Catholic sense, substitut- 
ing for them the prophetical, or preaching, office. From 
their side of the fence, accordingly, have been heard nu- 
merous refusals to accept re-ordination at the hands of 
Anglican Bishops. 

On the other hand within the Anglican Communion, 
including of course the Episcopal Church in the United 
States, the opinion has been expressed that too much 
concession to the Sects contains elements of danger, and 
will defeat the goal aimed at. Every lover of Unity 
must respect the good intentions of the Lambeth Fathers. 
The need of a re-united Church is very great. As we 
understand it. Unity is the will of Christ, as expressed 
by those words, ^Tather, I pray that they may be One, 
even as we are One." 

The crux of the matter then seems not to lie in the 
noble aspiration for Unity, but rather in the way and 
means to this end. Anything less than a real Unity will 

vii 



Vlll PREFACE 

be a contradiction in terms and without value in the 
sense of producing that Oneness meant by the Nicene 
Creed, ^^And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apos- 
tolic Church.'^ 

The language just quoted from the Creed "throws the 
cards upon the table,'^ if one may be permitted to apply 
to the discussion of Unity words very popular in world 
politics at the present time. That is to say, the Unity 
aimed at must be a Catholic Unity. 

At the present stage of education on the subject it 
is very doubtful whether among the rank and file of 
Protestant Christians there is any definite understanding 
of what Unity means, or any general recognition of its 
necessity or value. If one may judge from the official 
replies made thus far by the Denominational Bodies since 
the Lambeth Conference, the conception of Unity, even 
on the part of their leaders, does not rise above some sort 
of an Alliance, or Confederation, of the Sects, which will 
manifest itself in closer cooperation but without loss of 
identity on the part of any one of the differing Denomi- 
nations. It need scarcely be said that any perpetuation 
of present Protestantism in its manifold phases can never 
result in Unity. It is the nature of Protestantism to 
fly apart into individualism. 

The opposite of individualism is Catholicity. The goal 
of Unity to be aimed at lies in this direction, and a study 
of the nature and meaning of Unity would seem to be the 
natural and logical procedure. As one pursues the study 
of Unity, there will be found along the road certain 
sign-posts, — scriptural, ecclesiastical, and historical. One 
will look in vain for the source, as well as the principle, 
of Unity among those who left the historic Church in 
the sixteenth century. They may return to Unity, but it 
is not found of them, nor in them. Its source lies else- 
where. 

The question very naturally arises. Has the Lambeth 
Conference, in its offer of "the historic episcopate" to 



PREFACE IX 

the Denominations, found the solution of the problem of 
a divided Christianity? In other words, does the An- 
glican Episcopate contain in itself the necessary matter 
for Unity ? A number^ of Anglicans in England, Canada, 
and the United States have declared that the re-ordination 
of Denominational ministers by Anglican Bishops with- 
out requiring of the re-ordained a full acceptance of the 
Creed would only make confusion worse confounded. 
Let us suppose, however, that the Denominational! sts ac- 
cepted Anglican statements of doctrine along with their 
re-ordination, but retained, as agreed, the identities of 
their present organizations. The world would then be- 
hold a spectacle, stranger from a Christian standpoint, 
than the present divisions. Upon one corner of our 
streets we should see the church of the Methodists (An- 
glican-Episcopated), upon another the Baptists (Angli- 
can-Episcopated), across the way the Presbyterians (An- 
glican-Episcopated), and down the avenue the Congre- 
gationalists (Anglican-Episcopated) of course, and so on 
along the line of the many and various Sectarian Bodies. 
It would be a rare and wonderful sight, naturally quite 
a cause of edification and mutual congratulation to the 
proponents of such a kind of unity, if there are any. 
Yes, it would be all this and more, but it would not 
be Unity. 

To return to the present attitude of mind among Prot- 
estants generally, there does not appear to be any con- 
sciousness (as a vital part of Christianity) that Christ 
founded the Church in one definite way, and that the 
Apostles and their successors continued this closely welded 
Society in the form of a Visible Unity. Nor do Prot- 
estants seem to understand that these Apostolic men be- 
lieved such foundation to be of the essence of the Church, 
and that they themselves, having been chosen by Christ 
and endued with power from on high by the bestowal 
of the Holy Ghost, were the lawfully appointed officers 
of the same. Further it may be said that "the new 



X PEEFAOE 

learning'^ of the sixteenth century in its break with the 
historic Church appears to have lost the sense of authority, 
which belonged to the Church from the beginning, and 
with this loss has thrown overboard in large measure the 
Orders of Ministry, Sacraments, and Creeds of the An- 
cient Church. 

The approach to Unity, therefore, would seem to de- 
mand the learning afresh on the part of Protestant Chris- 
tianity the lesson of the authority of the Catholic Church. 
The futility of Anglican re-ordination of Protestant min- 
isters while retaining their present religious affiliations is 
easily apparent. Also, one is reminded in this connec- 
tion that the Anglican Church has never claimed to be 
more than a Via Media, in other words, a way back to 
Unity. Anglicanism does not claim to be the center and 
source of Unity itself, and accordingly acknowledges that 
her program of a World Conference on Faith and Order 
does not mean that she hopes to make Anglicans or Epis- 
copalians of the DenominaHonal Christians. At best 
Anglicanism cannot be more than a lighted candle set in 
the midst of Protestantism, its flame reminding the sep- 
arated brethren of the ancient order and the way home. 

The world is weary of divisions among Christians. The 
rivalries of the Sects are not edifying. The outside mul- 
titudes look on amazed and scornful. Meanwhile the 
Church is sorely hindered in her work. Which way lies 
Unity? In what does its peace-producing principle con- 
sist? Christianity is, or should be, seeking that much 
desired answer. Does Unity consist in a set of principles 
like, for example, the Lambeth Quadrilateral of some 
years ago ? Or will this newest offer of re-ordination by 
Anglican Bishops produce the end sought for? Judging 
by past and present results, the answer to these questions 
must be ^^no.'^ Regretfully one is obliged to say this, 
remembering the high character of the gathering at Lam- 
beth and its solemn, eloquent plea for Unity. The fault 
certainly did not lie in the good intentions of the Bishops 



PEEFAOB XI 

assembled under the presidency of the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury. Something was lacking. What? 

Let us examine this matter a bit further. Even so 
august and representative a body as the Lambeth Con- 
ference admits that it has no power of legislation. Lam- 
beth advises, recommends. It can do no more. Why? 
Because of its conscious lack of power. Canterbury, 
whose Archbishop presides at the Lambeth Conference, 
is not an Apostolic See, and has no authority over Chris- 
tendom as a whole. Canterbury is not, and has never 
claimed to be, the Center of Unity. Its Archbishop is 
Primate of England, but there his authority ends. 

Where then is the Center and Source of Unity? As 
far as the author knows, only one See has claimed juris- 
diction over the universal Church. Rome, as the See of 
Peter, to whom Christ gave the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven, has no rival in its peculiar primacy. From time 
to time, and in various places, the authority of Rome 
has been contested, and in some cases thrown off, but so 
far as we know no other See or Bishop has made the like 
claim of Universal Primacy. At any rate (without going 
into the merits of the case) the reforming bodies of the 
sixteenth century broke away from Rome, and so destroyed 
the Unity of Western Christendom. It would seem, 
therefore, to be obvious that Rome cannot be left out of 
any program for Unity. In brief that is the thesis, which 
the present writer has set out to establish in this volume, 
the necessity of drawing Rome into the scheme of Re- 
union, because without her there can be no Unity in any 
real sense. 

One may very properly at this point (and doubtless 
will) say, "But don't you know that Pope Benedict XV. 
expressed his inability or unwillingness to take part in 
the World Conference on Faith and Order?'' Oh, yes, 
that is quite well known to the writer, but what of it ? 
The answer of Pope Benedict was not necessarily infalli- 
ble and final. Another Pope may take a different atti- 



Xll PREFACE 

tude. He will change, if it is the will of God that Visible 
Unity shall come about. The Conference, to which the 
American Commission invited the Pope, was after all 
only the Preliminary Conference at Geneva. A great deal 
may happen between now and the meeting of the Con- 
ference itself. We should not despair of the future. If 
our Christianity is vital, we should remember what great 
things are possible to faith. 

Another thing that might be said, and unfortunately 
with considerable truth, is that the antipathies aroused 
during the Reformation Period are still alive. Of course 
they are. A divided Christendom keeps the embers of 
that unhappy conflagration still glowing. We know, 
however, that religious bigotry and hatred are wrong. 
The law of Christ is love. A better understanding is 
under way. Men of all faiths are drawing closer to- 
gether. The time is ripe, or almost so, for Christlike 
charity to prevail. Let us clear the way for this by prac- 
ticing universal brotherhood in the various churches and 
in our individual lives. 

The author's insistence, that Rome must be drawn into 
any plan of Unity that is really such, may not unnatu- 
rally lead to the inquiry, ^'How comes it that you, a 
priest in Anglican Orders, are laying so much stress on 
Rome's part in the coming Unity ? Don't you know that 
your loyalty to the Communion whose Orders you bear 
will be questioned ?" Yes, my Episcopalian or Anglican 
or Protestant brother, as the case may be, one does incur 
the danger of suspected loyalty, but what matter, in the 
last analysis, if the suspicion is incurred in a good cause ? 
The writer confesses that he values the Unity of Christ's 
Holy Catholic Church even above the separateness of any 
branch of Christianity. Bigotry has had its day. At 
least we know that divisions in the Church are wrong. 
Unity is the biggest issue in the Christian World to-day. 
There should be hereafter no need for any man to apolo- 
gize or fear for speaking plainly, provided only he speaks 



PEEFAOE xiii 



the truth in a spirit of love. To-day the call is to mutual 
understanding. This can come about only through fair 
and fearless discussion. 

As the average reader has not easy access to the writings 
of the ancient Fathers of the Church, the author hopes 
that the brief sketches of a biographical nature prefixed 
to the quotations from each Father will not come amiss. 
It was thought that the setting in time and circumstance 
would give an added value to the writings themselves. 

In conclusion the author begs to say that nothing in 
the present volume should be construed as disloyal to the 
Church whose Orders he bears. He is looking beyond 
Episcopalianism and Anglicanism to the broader vision 
of a re-united Church. It is not that he loves and 
honors the Episcopal Church less, but that he loves and 
reverences the Catholic Church throughout the world more. 
Even as the pages of this Preface are being written, there 
is sitting at Washington the Conference for Disarma- 
ment, in the interest of International Peace. For diplo- 
mats and statesmen of the various nations to meet in this 
way and for these purposes is a unique attestation of the 
influence of Christianity among all peoples. Shall the 
churches, whose special duty and high privilege it is to 
follow the example of the Prince of Peace, do less ? 

E. S. M. 
Pre-Lent, 1922. 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

The Question Before the Court 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Movement Towards Unity . . • 1 

II. Some Eecent Proposals ..... 5 

III. The Basis of Unity . . . . . .12 

IV. Unity in the Gospels 18 

V. The '^'Via Media" 25 

VI. Grounds for the Via Media Position . . 34 

VII. Grounds for the Via Media Position (Cont.) 42 

VIII. Debatable Ground 48 

IX. The Primacy of Peter 53 

X. The Continuity of the Primacy ... 62 

XI. The Claims of Rome 66 

XII. Home and the Validity of Orders ... 74 

XIII. Denominational Christianity .... 81 

XIV. Anglicanism in the Future . . . . 87 
XV. Eome's Opportunity 91 



I. 

II. 
III. 



PART II 

The Evidence in the Case 
(Testimony of the Ante-Nicene Fathers) 

Clement of Rome to Ignatius of Antioch 

Justin Martyr — Irenaeus — Hermas 

Clement of Alexandria — Tertullian - 
Origen — Cyprian . . . . 



97 
106 

113 



XV 



XVI CONTENTS 

(Testimony of the Post-Nicene Fathers) 

CHAPTER PAGE 

IV. Augustine 124 

V. Chrysostom and Socrates .... 133 

VI. Athanasius and Jerome 142 

VII. Cyril of Jerusalem — Basil — Theodoret . 150 
VIII. Hilary of Poitiers — Ambrose — ^Vincent of 

Lerins — Cassian 156 

IX. Leo the Great — Gregory the Great . . 164 

X. Apostolic Constitutions and Early Litur- 
gies 173 

XI. The General Councils — Introduction . 177 

XII. Ecumenical Principles 185 

XIII. '^ Unity'' in the General Councils . . 191 

XIV. '* Unity'' in the General Councils {Cont.) 203 
XV. Ecumenical and African Canons . . . 212 



PART m 

Corroborative Argument 

The Threefold Ministry 

I. Some Fundamentals of the Faith . . . 225 

II. The Ministry Under the Apostles . . 228 

III. The Ministry in the Sub- Apostolic Age . 240 

IV. The Ministry from Irenaeus to Cyprian . 250 
V. The Ministry in Canons, Councils, Litur- 
gies, Ordinals, and Constitutions. Con- 
clusion 262 



PAET I 
THE QUESTION BEFORE THE COUKT 



UNITY AND ROME 

CHAPTEE I 

THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS UNITY 

THE greatest question before Christendom to-day ia 
the Unity of the Church. It is so wide-reaching 
in its consequences that the whole structure of the Church 
— root and branch — is affected. Its vital importance can 
best be realized by the evils that the loss of Unity has 
brought about. The spectacle of a divided Christianity 
is sad enough, but the chaos, uncertainty, and inefficiency 
following in its train have gradually forced men to con- 
sider its practical side. No one in his sound senses 
wishes to tie up for any length of time to a concern con- 
ducted on wrong principles, and it is beginning to be seen 
that a divided Church comes under this head. 

There is, however, another and higher aspect of this 
question. It has to do with the mind of God. "What is 
the will of Christ concerning His Church? If the wiU 
of the Head of the Church is Unity, it is a manifest 
contradiction for any of its members to act contrary to 
the Divine Purpose. In a certain and very real sense 
it is sin for the followers of Christ to live in disunity, 
although we believe that Almighty God in His mercy 
and understanding of human frailty pardons the mis- 
guided actions, which proceed from invincible ignorance. 
Opinions which shaped themselves, and self-confidence 
which assumed unwarranted authority, in the heat and 
strife of the Reformation struggle, have now had abun- 
dant opportunity to test themselves in the light of experi- 

1 



2 tri^ITY ANB EOME 

ence and practical results. As men look backward aided 
by the perspective of several centuries misgivings are 
beginning to arise in many quarters. Under God this 
growing doubt and dis-satisfaction with church condi- 
tions are turning the thoughts of men towards Unity — its 
desirability, nay, its necessity. 

Lovers of Unity see in the movement now under way the 
finger of God. They think of the Spirit of God brooding 
over the waters at Creation — bringing order out of chaos. 
Another chaos has invaded the world — this time the Chris- 
tian world — seeking to rend the Church against which 
Christ has promised the gates of hell shall never prevail. 
Once more the Spirit of God — ^this time in His divine 
capacity as the Spirit of Truth — is brooding over the wa- 
ters, enlightening men^s understanding, recalling to their 
minds the will of Christ, showing them the evil results of 
going contrary to that will, holding out before them the 
blessings that wait on Unity. Almighty God is waiting 
to say of the work of His Son — as He did at Creation — 
that it is "good.'' 

God is using various agencies to bring about this end. 
The Lambeth Quadrilateral put forth by Anglicans in the 
last quarter of the nineteenth century, the World Confer- 
ence on Faith and Order instituted by the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, the Concordat signed between the Eastern 
Churches and the Anglican Communion, the proposed Con- 
cordat between Congregationalists and Episcopalians, the 
Inter-Church Movement among the Protestant Denomina- 
tions — as well as the reunion between different bodies of 
certain of these Denominations — are all evidences of an 
increasing interest in the subject of Unity. 

Besides these official actions of bodies of Christians, 
there is another powerful agency at work, namely, prayer — 
the most potent of all because behind it is the faith that 
moves mountains. Thousands of individual souls through- 
out the world are praying for Unity. Bishops, clergy, 
inmates of religious houses, the Pope, are daily praying 



THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS UNITY 6 

that the will of Christ regarding His Church may be ful- 
filled. Each year on the 25th of January — ^the Feast of 
the Conversion of St. Paul — and during the Octave, the 
Holy Sacrifice and the prayers of the faithful are offered 
for this intention. God is not unmindful of the prayers 
of His saints. This great moving force — ^the work of the 
Holy Ghost — is gradually illumining the hearts and minds 
of men, impelling them to definite action towards Unity. 
The Spirit of God is brooding over the waters. 

Two things are necessary precursors to real Unity — the 
spread of Christ-like charity and the intelligent under- 
standing of the Catholic principles upon which alone 
Unity must rest. It is with these considerations that this 
volume has to do. 

Among Protestants probably the aspiration for Unity 
has not advanced in most cases beyond the conception of 
Inter-denominational Alliance. Thus far judging from 
the utterances of their leaders, they are concerned with 
some sort of a Confederation of Churches, in which they 
are to retain their Denominational names, but will co- 
operate in religious work — ^with interchange of pulpits. 
Of course this would not be Unity in the Catholic sense. 
It would not be Unity at all, so long as they insist on 
perpetuating their Denominational differences. Our Prot- 
estant brethren, however, are building better than they 
know. The fact that they are considering Unity at all 
is the encouraging feature. They are beginning to open 
their minds and widen their vision. The Holy Ghost, 
the Spirit of Truth, can be trusted to complete the work 
of leading them into all truth. 

It is a part of the author's present task to examine the 
proposals for Unity referred to above, and compare them 
with what the Church in the past has set forth as the 
necessary conditions of Unity. The study of our Catholic 
heritage — the Fathers, the General Councils, the Creeds, 
should enable us to arrive at a clear understanding of 
what the essentials of Unity are. It may sometimes 



ITNITY AND ROME 



wound our pride to do this, and test our courage to accept 
results arrived at, but fearlessness accompanied by charity 
and humility, accomplishes much when attended by the 
blessing of God. 



CHAPTEE II 

SOME RECEIPT PROPOSALS 

THE word "recent" in the heading of this chapter is 
intended to include the proposals directed towards 
Unity made at any time during the last half century, 
as well as those now in process. These overtures for 
Unity deserve respectful consideration because of their 
praise-worthy intention, if for no other reason. They are 
to be examined, in what seems to the author the only light, 
namely, that of Catholic faith and practice. There must 
be some standard of judgment, and as one hears on all 
sides only of a Catholic Unity, it is reasonable to set up 
a Catholic standard of judgment. Indeed, it would be 
difficult to do otherwise, because Protestant standards are 
so various and rest upon the individual opinions of differ- 
ent men. 

It may be well in opening this discussion to quote a 
few sentences from the Encyclical put forth by the Lam- 
beth Conference of 1920. "The foundation and ground 
of all fellowship is the undeflected will of God, renewing 
again and again its patient effort to possess, without de- 
stroying, the wills of men. And so He has called into be- 
ing a fellowship of men. His Church, and sent His Holy 
Spirit to abide therein, that by the prevailing attraction 
of that one Spirit He, the one God and Father of all, 
may win over the whole human family to that fellowship 
in Himself by which alone it can attain to the fullness of 
life." 

"This, then, is the object of the Church. In the prose- 
cution of this object it must take account of every fellow- 
ship that exists among men, must seek to deepeii and 

6 



6 UNITY AND BOMB 

purify it, and above all, to attach it to God. But in order 
to accomplish its object the Church must itseK be a pat- 
tern of fellowship. It is only by showing the value and 
power of fellowship in itself that it can win the world 
to fellowship. The weakness of the Church in the world 
of to-day is not surprising when we consider how the 
bands of its own fellowship are loosened and broken." 

In this formal declaration of the two hundred and fifty- 
two Anglican Bishops gathered from all parts of the world 
several truths are voiced with no uncertain sound. First, 
the will of God is recognized as the ground of the Church. 
Second, it is the will of God that all men should be won 
into the one fellowship, His Church. Third, the failure 
of the Church to do this is owing to its divided, and con- 
sequently weakened, condition. 

The Encyclical says further, referring to the lessons 
learned from the great war, "Men in all communions 
began to think of the reunion of Christendom, not as a 
laudable ambition or a beautiful dream, but as an im- 
perative necessity. Proposals and counter-proposals were 
made, some old, some new. Mutual recognition, organic 
union, federation, absorption, submission — ^these phrases 
indicate the variety of the programs put forward." 

Since the undeflected will of God is the foundation 
and ground of the Church, Christendom is confronted 
with the question, wherein lies the will of God ? Surely 
the answer to that question will bring the Church to 
the attainment of the purpose of its Divine Founder. 
Our study then must be to discover the will of God. 

The third Lambeth Conference, held in 1888, put forth 
a fourfold basis of reunion known as the Lambeth Quad- 
rilateral. The four points proposed for acceptance were 
(1) The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as 
the revealed Word of God; (2) The Creeds (Apostles^ 
and Nicene) ; (3) The two Sacraments, Baptism and 
the Supper of the Lord, as instituted by Christ; (4) The 
historic Episcopate. 



SOME RECENT PROPOSALS 7 

How shall we account for the slight impression made 
upon divided Christianity by this platform for Unity? 
The four points advanced by the Anglican Conference are 
undoubtedly essential elements of the Catholic Faith, al- 
though the last two from a Catholic standpoint are under- 
stated. The undivided Church has always accepted seven 
Sacraments, and the Episcopate does not rest its authority 
upon its historicity but upon its Apostolicity. Was the 
failure of the Lambeth Quadrilateral to effect reunion 
due to the unreadiness of the Protestant world to accept 
Unity, or was it because the proposed basis lacked a sacred, 
compelling character? The first was certainly the case, 
the second, probably so. 

This second statement brings us face to face with the 
crux of the whole matter. Can Unity be brought about 
by the acceptance of cardinal principles or dogmas ? Did 
the Unity of the Early Church rest upon such a founda- 
tion ? Let us look into this matter carefully. For exam- 
ple, if the different countries accepted the basis proposed 
by the Lambeth Conference, would it result in more than 
so many national Churches — each independent and re- 
serving to itself the right to go its own way? Or again, 
if the various Denominations in any one country, as in 
America for example, could be brought to accept the four 
points of the Lambeth Quadrilateral, would we have any 
more than so many Episcopal bodies retaining in each case 
its peculiar character in other respects ? Would not such 
a condition result in more accentuated rivalries, if each 
Denomination was fortified by a ministry admitted equally 
valid by their differing brethren? Would this be Unity 
in a Catholic sense ? Would this be the Unity prayed for 
by our Lord? 

The proposed Concordat between the Episcopalians and 
Congregationalists does not rise to a higher level than 
that just indicated. As for the Inter-Church Alliance, 
or Confederation of the various Protestant Denominations, 
j;here can be no serious question that such an arrangement 



8 UNITY AND ROME 

would not be Unity. It would be what the name indicates 
and no more. 

The recent overtures made by the Anglican Communion, 
particularly by the Protestant Episcopal Church in Amer- 
ica, to the Eastern Churches, and their sympathetic re- 
ception of these advances, carry the movement towards 
TJnity clearly to a higher level. It is a higher level 
because of the historic and Catholic character of these 
Churches. In the case of the Eastern Churches even 
Rome admits the validity of their Ministry and the ortho- 
doxy of their faith. Their separation from Rome was 
due in the first instance to their rigid adherence to the 
Nicene Creed as finally ratified by the Council of Chal- 
cedon in 451. Rome and the West permitted the intro- 
duction of the filioque clause into the Creed, and so the 
conservative East withdrew from the Western Church. 

A curious ecclesiastical wrinkle manifests itself in this 
connection with respect to the Anglican Communion. 
Rome admits the validity of the Orders of the Ministry 
of the Eastern Churches and the Catholicity of their Be- 
lief, receiving them without re-ordination of their Priest- 
hood, simply upon submission to the Pope. On the other 
hand, while the Eastern Churches are inclined to accept 
the Ministry and Faith of the Anglican Church as Cath- 
olic and Apostolic, the Church of Rome does not. ITot- 
withstanding these differences with Rome, however, the 
efforts towards TJnity of Communions claiming alike Apos- 
tolic character lifts the matter manifestly to a higher 
plane. 

In the case of the Protestant Denominations, however, 
all the historic and Catholic Churches believe that the 
bodies which sprang up in the Reformation period, and 
later, lack something in the way of a valid Ministry and I 
Catholic Faith. The Denominations have lost something 
which the Catholic Church holds essential, and woul(^ > 

give them through a genuine TJnity. * 



SOME RECENT PROPOSAIiS • 

This brings us to the consideration of the proposed 
World Conference on Faith and Order — certainly the 
most extensive and hopeful movement towards Unity since 
the Reformation. 

What are the possibilities of the World Conference on 
Faith and Order? What is its probable outcome? At 
the outset two possible conditions are to be considered. 
First, what may happen if Rome — as is her present de- 
termination — stays out? Second, what might be the re- 
sult if Rome should take part in the World Conference? 
In either case, what could be accomplished in the way 
of Unity? 

Let us consider the former category first. With Rome 
out and maintaining her present position as Mother and 
Mistress of all churches, there would still be the great 
Roman Catholic Church over against whatever might be 
the rest of Christianity. What then of the bodies taking 
part in the Conference? What might be the result of 
their deliberations ? There are three possible outcomes. 
First, and what seems most unlikely in the present tem- 
per of the divided churches, the Conference might decide 
for a genuine Unity, and acknowledge the Supremacy of 
the See of Peter. Second, the Denominations might real- 
ize the value of the Ministry and Faith departed from 
at the Reformation, and unite with the Anglican and 
Eastern Churches as against Rome. Third, the Denom- 
inations might insist upon retaining their present sec- 
tarian character, and form some sort of Protestant Con- 
federation. 

In any of these cases the World Conference would not 
result in Unity unless Rome was included. Without Rome 
there would be at best a Duality, or even a Trinity. 
Christ, however, prayed for the Unity of His Church, 
and unless the Conference reaches a result in conformity 
with the undeflected will of Christ its work would be, if 
not vain, at least incomplete. The World Conference 



10 UNITY AND ROME 

would be — it is hoped — an encouraging advance towards 
Unity, and yet it would fall short of its most blessed 
result. 

If the Vatican authorities should change their mind, 
and Rome take part in the World Conference, what might 
be the outcome ? It goes without saying that the See of 
Peter will inflexibly maintain its position of being the 
divinely constituted Head of the Church. Rome will 
never change in that respect. She may make concessions 
in lesser matters to win back the sheep which have left 
her fold. Such a conciliatory attitude is quite conceiv- 
able, and it may yet prove to be Rome's great contribution 
towards the restoration of Unity. 

What then may happen with Rome taking part in the 
World Conference? First, the return of Christendom to 
its ancient Catholic home is within the range of possi- 
bilities. Second, while Rome may be rejected, the ac- 
ceptance by the Protestant Denominations of the olive 
branch held out to them by Anglicans is not impossible, 
followed naturally by a union between Protestants, Angli- 
cans, and Easterns. Third, the Conference may result 
in the refusal of the Protestants to abandon their present 
individualism, and some sort of an Alliance may be made 
between the Sects. With Rome, there would be Unity. 
Without Rome, the result would be, as in the former 
category, a Duality, or even a Trinity. Christ, however, 
prayed for the Unity of His Church. 

With the World Conference still in the future, the 
minds of those interested in bringing it about are doubt- 
less in a state of flux regarding its outcome. Sooner or 
later their laudable aspiration after Unity will be put 
to a gruelling test. When the World Conference actually 
meets, one can easily understand that there will be great 
searching of hearts. In that international assembly sev- 
eral things will become manifest^ — the presence, or ab- 
sence, of Christ-like charity, of open-mindedness and wide 
vision, of sincerity and unselfishness in the desire for 



SOME RECENT PEOPOSAI^ ll 

Unity. If love, humility, and obedience to the will of 
Christ prevail, wonderful results may come of the World 
Conference. If its members suffer themselves to be led 
by the Spirit of truth, they will be led into the way of 
truth. In the meantime let us prayerfully seek to learn 
more and more of the nature and principles of Unity. 
The purpose of the present volume is to seek after these 
things. 



CHAPTER III 

THE BASIS OF UK^ITY 

THERE are certain fundamental principles regarding 
the Unity of the Church, of which many writers 
of the present day appear to be ignorant. If this is not 
the case, then their silence on these matters conveys the 
impression that they wish to keep them out of the dis- 
cussion. Of course the value given to these fundamentals 
determines the character of one's belief in the nature, 
authority, and subsequent development of the Church. It 
is with the hope of bringing these essential principles into 
the discussion of Unity that the author has been led to 
undertake the present volume. 

At the founding of the Church its Unity was proclaimed 
by our Lord Jesus Christ to be an inherent part of 
Eternal Truth. Under the guidance of the Holy Ghost — 
as promised by Christ — the Church crystallized this truth 
for all time in the imperishable language of the Creed, 
"I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." 
What the Church says of the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Ghost, it also says of the Unity of the Church. 
Each of these cardinal truths is equally binding upon all, 
who profess to believe in the Creed. To deny this is 
to stultify the whole Christian position, and to disbelieve 
the words of the Divine Founder of the Church. Either 
the Holy Ghost has guided the Church into all truth in 
the declaration of its most solemn and explicit formulary, 
or Christianity is laboring under a gigantic delusion, and 
the entire system falls to the ground as a network of 
error unworthy of belief. 

Let us examine reverently the grounds of our belief in 

12 



THE BASIS OF UNITY 13 

the teaching of the Church regarding Unity. Beginning 
with the New Testament, let us follow the course of Unity 
through the writings of the Fathers, the General Councils, 
during the Eef ormation Era, and down to the present day. 
Above all — in a spirit of Christ-like charity — ^let us try 
to receive the truth with an open mind, putting aside sec- 
tarian prejudices, and courageously excluding all precon- 
ceived notions at variance with Catholic truth. 

St. Paul tells us in his first epistle to Timothy that 
the Church of the living God is the pillar and ground of 
the truth. That is to say, the Church is the supporter 
and stay of the truth — the teacher and defender of the 
same. But granting that the Church is all that the Apostle 
claims for it, what is that truth of which the Church is 
the pillar and ground? Whence and from whom comes 
that sacred deposit? When and how did the Church re- 
ceive this precious treasure committed to its care ? By 
whom and under what conditions is the Church to pro- 
claim its divine heritage to the world? These are valid 
questions — entirely consonant with the nature of truth. 
They are plain questions, and there must be equally plain 
answers, because it is the manifest destiny of truth to 
come to the light. Evidently the answers to these ques- 
tions must be sought at the source of divine revelation. 
Let us study in orderly, legitimate ways how God the 
Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, has led the Church into 
all truth. We shall come thereby to understand the pre- 
eminent place Christ has ordained Unity to occupy in His 
Church. 

Divine Truth may be likened unto a pyramid. It does 
not rest upon its apex but upon a broad and substantial 
base. The apex of truth emerges into the region of 
human understanding, but its eternal base is the mind of 
God Himself. Truth is a unity in itself. Its nature is 
such that one aspect of the truth cannot be connected with 
another by error. N"or can there be a -complete break 
between different links in the chain of truth. Otherwise 



14 UNITY AND EOME 

the unity would be broken. The essence of the nature of 
truth is simplicity, oneness, unity in itself. As God is a 
perfect Unity, so is Truth a perfect Unity ; for the Truth 
is of God. 

Truth has been likened unto a pyramid. It also re- 
sembles a great statue, whose head reaches unto the clouds 
— to the very throne of God itself — and whose feet rest 
upon the earth. It is unlike all other statues, because it 
is a Divine Image, sometimes presenting itself to us under 
the guise of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, connecting link 
between heaven and earth, between humanity and God- 
head. Again it takes on the appearance qf the Church, 
which is the Body of Christ, and the statue exhibits a 
quality shared by no other. It possesses a living voice, 
and its speech is the language of infallible truth. Since 
the Church was founded by Christ, and Christianity takes 
its name from Him, it is natural to seek from Him in the 
first instance the truth about its character and authority. 

Many of the words spoken by our Lord were spiritual 
precepts addressed to individual souls, but from time to 
time He spoke of great general principles and fundamental 
truths. For example, Christ said some very significant 
things about the being and nature of God, about truth — 
its sacred character and paramount authority, its future 
custody and development. It is with these latter declara- 
tions of our Divine Head that we have now to do. 

On one occasion our Lord said, as St. John tells us 
in his Gospel, "I and my father are one." In these 
solemn and wonderful words Christ proclaimed the Unity 
of God. He had already explained in the same Gospel 
the unity of the Divine Purpose, "I came to do the will 
of Him that sent me.'^ Nor does He leave us in any 
doubt as to what that Divine Purpose was. ^^I am come," 
He says, "that they might have life, and that they might 
have it more abundantly." Then He goes on to declare, 
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," thus insep- 



THE BASIS OF UNITY 15 

arably connecting Truth with Life, and making Himself 
the Way to both. 

With the infallible Prescience that belonged to Him 
as God, Christ realized. that His followers would not be 
able to comprehend the Truth all at once. He, therefore, 
made a great promise to His Apostles, and established at 
the same time an abiding principle for the future guidance 
of His Church. This promise of Christ was as follows: 
"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will 
guide you into all truth." 

It is the nature of all life to pass from infancy to 
maturity, from bud to blossom, and yet the future devel- 
opment and full realization of life lie hidden in the seed. 
It is so with truth — imparted to man at first in propor- 
tion to his capacity to receive, but unfolding itself like 
a splendid flower under divine guidance, as the evolution 
of human faith and understanding makes possible the rev- 
elation of additional truth. 

Our Lord realized this when He said to His Apostles, 
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot 
bear them now." They could not bear these "many 
things," because they were not yet filled with the Holy 
Ghost. When this greater capacity for understanding 
spiritual truth came, it was the Holy Ghost, the Spirit 
of Truth, Who led them into all truth. This was God'B 
way of dealing with His Church, as proclaimed by Christ 
to His Apostles, and we cannot alter nor improve upon it. 

The same process of evolution visible in the realm of 
nature applies to the Church, the divinely appointed cus- 
todian of the Truth. The Church did not come down 
from heaven decked like a bride in all the beauty and 
splendor of her wedding garments, but nevertheless its 
future glory and perfection lay hidden in the infant 
Church. The first simple liturgy, the first unadorned 
places of worship, the first undeveloped but entirely com- 
petent ministry of Apostles, Presbyters, and Deacons, con- 



16 UNITY AND EOME 

tained within themselves inherent powers fully adequate to 
all subsequent development and future needs. 

The Church at first had no written gospels and epistles, 
no Creed definitely formulated for all time, no Service 
Books. All these things came with time and growth, but 
always under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. When they 
did come, they were right — the valid expressions of the 
Divine Purpose. 

In the days following the Descent of the Holy Ghost 
on the Day of Pentecost there was perfect unity of faith 
and practice in the early Church, but there was more — 
unity of fellowship. The Apostles and other disciples had 
heard their Lord and Master express Himself on this 
subject, and because they loved Him they desired to fulfill 
His will. They remembered, too, the order and sequence 
of the chief actions of their Lord in founding the Church. 
To them it was a matter of first importance to carry out 
His commands, especially those things which He stressed 
in His parting injunctions. 

How simple and easily understood were Christ^s acts 
in founding His Church ! First, He chose His Apostles, 
and clothed them with authority and power. Then He 
taught them, as far as they were then able to receive, and 
instituted the sacred memorial sacrifice of His Body and 
Blood. He knew one thing more was essential to the 
peace and prosperity of His Church, namely. Unity. 
Therefore as His earthly Ministry was closing He prayed 
in the most solemn manner for that purpose. 

"Holy Father, keep through thine own name those 
whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which 
shall believe on me through their word. 

That they all may be one: as thou. Father, art in me, 
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the 
world may believe that thou hast sent me. 

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them : 
that they may be one, even as we are one: 



THE BASIS OF UNITY 17 

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made per- 
fect in one: and that the world may know that thou hast 
sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.'^ 
St. John XVII, 11, 20, 21, 22, 23. 

This is the basis of the Unity of the Church — the 
prayer of the Son of God to His Father, Whose will He 
had been sent to do. If any words of Christ are entitled 
to credence, to reverential awe and obedience, these are. 
If any language of Christ by reason of solemn time and 
sacred circumstance is bound to be believed, then this 
prayer of the Saviour addressed to the Father just before 
His passion is bound to be believed. It was believed 
in the early Church and for centuries thereafter. Unity 
was considered of the very essence of the Church, so much 
so that a Church without Unity was not considered pos- 
sible. The wonder is that men of the present day should 
call themselves Christians and yet disregard the will of 
Christ concerning His Church. 



CHAPTEE IV 

UNITY IN THE GOSPELS 

THE history of the founding of the Church is so simple 
and direct one would think that there could be no 
doubt about the four Notes of the Church, — its Oneness, 
Holiness, Catholicity, and Apostolicity. One would im- 
agine that Christian people could never accept a Church 
as true which did not possess all of these marks. As we 
follow the steps of our Lord in founding the Church, let 
us particularly bear in mind the part that the first Note, 
Unity, plays in all that He did and said. 

First, He chose Twelve Apostles. If our Lord had 
chosen an indefinite number of Apostles, or if He had 
confined the authority delegated to them to the general 
promise, "I will make you fishers of men,'^ it is easily 
conceivable that the Church might have been a very differ- 
ent affair, and the Ministry of no special or binding 
authority. 

The next thing which the Divine Head of the Church 
did was to instruct the Twelve in the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of heaven, — as far as was necessary at the 
time, and their capacity to receive permitted. Upon St. 
Peter and his colleagues He gradually conferred increas- 
ing powers of Apostolic Ministry. He gave them power 
to bind and loose, to forgive sins in His name, to con- 
secrate His sacred Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist, 
to teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching 
them to observe whatsoever things He had commanded 
them, and finally bestowed the enabling power to continue 
the Ministry through the ordination of fit persons. 

18 



UNITY IN THE GOSPELS 19 

Indeed, Christ could not have made His language 
stronger in conferring these powers on the Twelve, as wit- 
ness the following words. 

"As my Father sent Me even so send I you." 

"All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." 

"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 
Holy Ghost. 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway even unto 
the end of the world. Amen." 

Here are plenitude of power, fullness of teaching 
authority, and the abiding presence of Christ with the 
Apostolic Ministry unto the end of the world. The order 
in which our Lord conferred the highest powers of sacred 
Ministry is worthy of special notice. It is also worth- 
while to observe that it is in the Gospels of St. Matthew 
and St. John, both of them Apostles, we find the accounts 
of the bestowal of Apostolic function. In St. Mark and 
St. Luke, who were not of the Twelve, it is perhaps con- 
sistent that no mention of this subject occurs. 

When the Twelve Apostles are named in the Gospels, 
St. Peter always stands first. This is what we should 
expect in the Inspired Scriptures, if the Primacy of Peter 
is part of the divine plan. On the occasion of our Lord's 
choice of Peter to the Apostleship, He gave him a new 
name of special significance when the Primacy is taken 
into account. St. Mark, not an Apostle, says, "And Simon 
He sumamed Peter." St. John, an Apostle, writes more 
in detail. "And when Jesus beheld him. He said, Thou 
art Simon, the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, 
which is by interpretation, a stone." Both Peter and 
Cephas mean "stone." 

Protestants, who rob Peter to pay Paul, are fond of 
saying, "Peter denied His Lord not once but thrice. How 
was he a rock?" To such we would answer that Christ 
gave this new name to Simon with the most deliberate in- 



20 UNITY AND ROME 

tention. He called him Peter because He saw in this 
Apostle the rock-like character and faith, upon which He 
announced that He would build His Church. ISTotwith- 
standing Peter's passing human weakness, our blessed Lord 
saw in him the rock-man, who later on was to strengthen 
his brethren. As far as denial goes, in the hour of 
Christ's humiliation all the Apostles forsook Him and 
fled. The divine prescience of Christ regarding Peter was 
abundantly verified by the great part the Prince of the 
Apostles played in the founding of the Church. To 
belittle St. Peter is practically to charge our Lord with 
poor judgment in the choice of the Apostle who was to 
receive ^^the power of the keys." 

It was said above that the order in which the highest 
powers of Ministry was bestowed is worthy of special 
attention. As a matter of fact, when the actual gift of 
Apostolic function was made, it was upon St. iPeter first 
that the delegated authority was conferred, and in degree 
and character superior to his brethren. The language of 
the sacred narrative leaves no doubt on this point. 

"And Simon Peter answered and said. Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered 
and said unto him. Blessed art thou, Simon, Bar-jona : 
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but 
my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto 
thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build 
my Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shalt 
be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on 
earth shalt be loosed in heaven." St. Matthew XVI, 
16-19. 

At the time "the power of the keys" was given to St. 
Peter no mention whatever was made of the other Apos- 
tles. The Father in heaven had revealed to one man 
alone the necessary faith in Christ's Sonship of the living 
God, and accordingly upon one special powers and dis- 



UNITY IN THE GOSPELS 21 

tinction were conferred. It was a personal matter between 
these two, the Divine Head of the Church on the one hand, 
and the Prince of the Apostles on the other. In this way 
our Lord provided for the Unity of the Church by singling 
out one person for the Primacy. If there had been no 
Reformation with its attendant controversies, its need of 
bolstering up new positions by denying unpalatable claims 
made in other quarters, it is probable that the plain lan- 
guage of Christ would be accepted at its face value, and 
the Primacy of "the Fisherman" never questioned. 

It is not until two chapters later that the same Evan- 
gelist includes the remaining Apostles in the power to 
forgive sins in the name of Christ, or to withhold par- 
don, as the case may be. "Verily I say unto you, what- 
soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: 
and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed 
in heaven.'' St. Matt. XVIII, 18. The language con- 
fines itself to the binding and loosing power. IsTone of 
the special prerogatives granted to St. Peter individually 
are shared by his Apostolic colleagues. There are to be 
twelve sources of Apostolic labors and mission, but only 
one source of Primacy. Unity proceeds from one. 

Remembering that Christ did nothing meaningless in 
founding the Church, two further actions of our Lord 
are to be noted. "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, 
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may 
sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that 
thy faith fail not : and when thou art converted, strengthen 
thy brethren." St. Luke XXII, 31, 32. To no other 
Apostle did the Son of God grant the power and re- 
sponsibility of strengthening his brethren of the Apostolic 
college. It would be temerarious in the extreme to assert 
that Christ failed, or was mistaken, or lacked divine in- 
tention in a matter affecting so intimately the future of 
His Church. 

The special charge just referred to was given before 
Christ's passion and suffering. As if this was not enough, 



22 UNITY AND EOMB 

our blessed Lord in those last days between His Resur- 
rection and Ascension — surely the most solemn and im- 
pressive time in His earthly ministry — gave a final and 
wide-sweeping charge to St. Peter. The fact that an- 
other Apostle^ St. John, testifies to these things, lends 
additional significance. We read in the last chapter of 
the fourth Gospel, ^^So when they had dined, Jesus saith 
to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me 
more than these ? He saith unto Him, Tea, Lord ; Thou 
knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him. Feed 
my lambs. He saith unto him again the second time, 
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me ? He said unto Him, 
Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto 
him. Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, 
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me ? Peter was grieved 
because He saith unto him the third time, Lovest thou 
Me? And he said unto Him, Lord, Thou knowest all 
things : Thou knowest that I love Thee. Jesus saith unto 
him. Feed my sheep.'' St. John XXI, 15-17. 

These are the plain words of Scripture. How can they 
be ignored? All the Apostles, save Judas Iscariot, were 
present. Why did Jesus Christ single out Peter ? Surely 
the Son of God, about to ascend in His glorified body 
to His Father in heaven, would not trifle or deceive. 
Reason and circumstance both attest to the solemnity and 
meaning of this thrice-repeated charge. If Peter was 
commanded, ^Teed my lambs. Feed my sheep. Feed my 
sheep,'' then by direct and unavoidable sequence the 
lambs and sheep of Christ must go to Peter to be fed. 
If this is not the plain meaning of the passage, then the 
human mind is incapable of understanding the words of 
Christ. If the 'New Testament is to be accepted as the 
revealed word of God, then these sacred charges to Peter 
cannot be brushed aside. Because a doctrine is unpal- 
atable in certain quarters, because a passage of Scripture 
conflicts with some new Protestant theory of the Church, 
that is no warrant for rejection. There is something 



UNITY IN THE GOSPELS 23 

higher than sectarian prejudice, something more authori- 
tative than expediency. The words of Christ are para- 
mount. 

If the Unity of the Church is to be restored, men must 
begin by accepting the words of Christ in their entirety 
and without fear of consequence. Of course if any one 
is satisfied with the words of Luther, Calvin, or any 
other discoverer of "the new learning" of the sixteenth 
century, in preference to the words of Christ, he will go 
his own way. Such a procedure is conceivable. It has 
been done. It does not, however, result in Unity. 

The last command of Christ to His Apostles was given 
before His final blessing and Ascension into heaven. St. 
Luke records the event as follows, "And, behold, I send 
the promise of my Father upon you : but tarry ye in the 
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from 
on high." St. Luke XXIV, 49. 

The language is unmistakable. The Apostles are 
straitly charged by the Head of the Church to remain 
in the Holy City until they are fully equipped for their 
future work. This complete equipment is to come through 
the reception of the Holy Ghost, "the power from on 
high." It includes plenitude of function, divine guid- 
ance, and protection against "the gates of hell" for all 
time. 

It was a United Church for which Christ made these 
provisions. He intended that its members should be 
One, even as He was One with the Father. He provided 
a Primate among the Apostles, knowing that every society, 
human or divine, must have a head. Then, having clothed 
this head with necessary powers, Christ bade the lawfully 
appointed shepherd to feed His Flock, the lambs as well 
as the sheep. 

Rebellious sheep have gone to other shepherds at differ- 
ent times, and have received other foods. In these other 
pastures the sheep have sometimes lost the faith in Christ 
on which He promised to build His Church. In addition, 



24 UNITY AND BOME 

the strayings abroad of the sheep under self-appointed 
shepherds have broken the Unity of the Flock. 

Unity, as outlined in the Gospels, must ever remain 
the norm of the Church. Men have departed from it, 
but the divine plan remains the same. 



CHAPTER V 



THE "via media'' 



IN the old days of the last century when the Episcopal 
Church rather prided itself on its comprehensiveness, 
the different schools of thought within its fold — High, 
Low, and Broad — ^were looked upon with considerahle 
good-natured toleration among Episcopalians themselves, 
and perhaps with sympathetic appreciation by sectarians, 
realizing the differences among the various Denominations. 

This note of comprehensiveness, or as some preferred to 
call it, compromise, was quite generally regarded as the 
great proof that the Protestant Episcopal Church was in- 
deed the Via Media, or Middle Way, by which the De- 
nominational churches — severed from the body of the 
Church Catholic at the Reformation — were to travel back 
to Unity. In some minds this comprehensiveness became 
a new 'Note of the Church — perhaps the greatest ISTote^ — ^to 
be added to those other Notes set forth in the Nicene 
Creed, Oneness, Holiness, Catholicity, and Apostolicity. 

The believers in comprehensiveness pointed back com- 
placently to those Divines in England who accomplished 
so cannily the supposedly impossible task of reconciling 
Catholicity with Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Zwing- 
lianism. The stream runs true to its source, they de- 
clared, and rested trustfully on their oars. While they 
were thus resting, confident of the future, sectarian lines 
hardened. The separatists of Colonial days instead of 
rushing to join the Church of comprehensiveness drew 
further away, and began to increase by leaps and bounds. 
The world then witnessed a strange thing. The Church, 
which claimed to combine the best things of Catholicity 

25 



26 TJJS^ITY AND ROME 

and Protestantism, saw its singular advantages overlooked. 
In England, indeed, non-conformists went so far in some 
instances as to leave home and country rather than accept 
the opportunity offered. 

In America Anglicans either lost the chance of recon- 
ciliation, or else the mass of the people would not have 
the transplanted English Church at any price. Accord- 
ingly, when the United States became a separate nation, 
and the Protestant Episcopal Church came into being 
as an independent branch of the Anglican Communion, 
the adherents of the latter found themselves in a decided 
minority. Along the eastern sea-board the wealth and 
social position of its members gave them an influence 
and standing out of proportion to their numerical strength. 
In the centers of population they maintained a creditable, 
if not large, showing, but as the country developed west- 
ward Episcopalianism failed to keep pace with the growth 
of the population. A skeleton frame-work of Dioceses 
was set up in the western states, and the number of 
Bishops increased accordingly, but as a matter of fact in 
the West and Southwest the Dioceses thus far in a num- 
ber of cases cannot boast a membership larger than a 
good-sized parish in the East. The bulk of the people 
had already given its allegiance elsewhere. 

To-day though conscious of comparatively small num- 
bers the Protestant Episcopal Church, along with the rest 
of the Anglican Communion, realizes its comprehensive 
character and believes in its mission as a Via Media to- 
wards a re-united Christendom. In recent years, how- 
ever, — at least since we have entered the era of "pro- 
posed Concordats'^ and other overtures towards Unity — 
the old attitude of compromise and tacit agreement to 
keep certain matters in the background seems no longer 
to answer. Compromise, as a working hypothesis, ap- 
pears to have broken down. The order of the day is clear 
thinking, or at least a positive attitude one way or the 
other. Whether we would have it so or not, questions 



THE "via media" 27 

are being asked in the religious world at tlie present time 
which demand an answer. Unless we are greatly mistaken 
it will_not be so easy hereafter to be protestant and cath- 
olic at the same time. The signs in the ecclesiastical sky 
may portend unsettled conditions, but they are to be fol- 
lowed by clearing weather. 

There are two reasons which lead to the conclusions 
of the preceding paragraph, — one from within the Angli- 
can Communion, and one from without. Anglicans are 
not at one regarding the terms of Re-union as outlined 
in the Unity proposals, and the Denominational bodies — 
judging from their replies to the invitation of the Lam- 
beth Conference — are not yet ready to hail the Via Media 
as the panacea for disrupted Christianity. The propo- 
nents of The World Conference on Faith and Order have 
certainly "started something,'^ and it is likely to prove 
a very heart-searching affair, — ^working both ways. Not 
since the Reformation have the divided churches been 
asked so pointedly to come out and declare themselves. 
This is particularly the case with regard to theories held 
concerning the Church, — its nature, authority, ministry, 
sacraments, and creeds. At the same time the Eastern 
Church is giving the Anglican Communion an opportun- 
ity to declare and prove its Catholicity. The proposers 
of the Unity program face issues which demand the best 
thinking of the wisest men in the Church. The outlook 
for compromise, on the whole, is not so favorable. 

It is natural for any organization to seek recognition 
of its principles and a larger membership. That incen- 
tive is behind all missionary effort. It was therefore 
natural and laudable for the Protestant Episcopal Church 
to offer what it had, as the basis of Unity, to the rest 
of Christendom. It did not claim that all should be- 
come Episcopalians, or even Anglicans, to use the larger 
term. Re-ordination by the Anglican Episcopate was 
all it asked. The resulting Catholicity was to produce 
Unity. Anglican Orders were held so essential that the 



28 XJlSriTY AND ROME 

Lambeth Fathers even offered to submit to re-ordination 
in turn, in order that their own validity might be im- 
parted to other ministries/ Just why this should be 
done (on the basis that Anglican Orders are valid and 
those of the Denominationalists are not, or at least de- 
ficient) is not clear. To the ordinary mind it seems 
illogical, savoring of traditional Anglican compromise. 
If two things are contradictory — one right, the other 
wrong, one valid, the other invalid — how can they deal 
or exchange on equal terms? Surrender is one thing, 
principle is quite another. In a matter so weighty as 
the IJnity of Christ's Holy Catholic Church, there can 
be no concession of truth to untruth, or to half-truth. 
Such procedure will lead to no real gain in the end. 
It is more likely to lead to greater uncertainty and wider 
confusion. 

All praise to every lover of true Unity! But we are 
not dealing now with good intentions, but with practical 
means towards a definite end. Nay, we will go further 
and say, that it is a question of catholic means towards 
a catholic end. There can be no other where Unity is 

1 From Report of Committee of Lambeth Conference on Reunion. 
"If the authorities of other communions should so desire, we are 
persuaded that, terms of union having been otherwise satisfactorily 
adjusted, bishops and clergy of our communion would willingly accept 
from these authorities" — i.e., "the authorities of other communions" 
— "a form of commission or recognition which would commend our 
ministry to their congregations." As a distinguished American 
Churchman puts it, "This is much more than Anglican bishops have 
ever said before. It can only mean that if the Catholic world sees 
a bar to imity in the circumstances under which the historic min- 
istry was preserved in England during the period in which the 
Ordinal has been attacked, successfully or unsuccessfully, their own 
participation in our ordinations such as may cure whatever they may 
deem to be defects will be welcomed, provided that we can reach the 
stage where nothing else than this stands in the way of reunion. 
Thus holding, they are justified in the hope 'that the same motive 
would lead ministers who have not received it to accept a conunis- 
sion through episcopal ordination, as obtaining for them a ministry 
throughout the whole fellowship.' " The words just quoted are pre- 
ceded by this sentence, referring to the future ideal of the Anglican 
Communion, "As the years go on, its ideal must become less Anglican 
and more Catholic." 



THE ^VlA MEDIa'^ 29 

concerned. For that reason we are bound to examine 
— more closely perhaps than ever before — the claims of 
Anglicanism to be the Via Media towards a re-united 
Christendom. Proceeding on the theory that we are 
sincere in desiring a real Unity of the Church, it is 
manifestly important to know the truth about the via- 
medial position of the Anglican Church. If its claims 
are true, we want to know that beyond all cavil. Then 
we can advance with confidence on the road to Unity. If 
the reverse is true, we want to know that also. Uncer- 
tainty will be removed and we shall be kept from fol- 
lowing a false scent. Unity is too great a matter for 
us to waste time and energy in pursuing a will o' the wisp. 

What then are the grounds for the position of Via 
Media assumed by the Protestant Episcopal Church and 
by the Anglican Communion generally? Also, who are 
the parties, or elements of Christianity, expected to use 
this Middle Eoad back to Unity? To answer the latter 
question first, those concerned are the Protestant Sects, 
the Eastern Church, and the Roman Church. Each of 
these is in a different and clearly defined relation to An- 
glicanism. 

The Sects, at least those of non-conformist English 
origin, left the Established Church for reasons partly 
concerned with doctrine, and partly with the form of 
church government. The general principle behind Prot- 
estantism is undoubtedly individualism, — ^the right of pri- 
vate interpretation and judgment in matters religious and 
ecclesiastical, as opposed to a Church teaching and gov- 
erning with authority. 

The replies of the Denominational Bodies to the Lam- 
beth proposal of re-ordination by Anglican Bishops show 
that the historic position assumed by Non-conformity is 
still vital among Protestant Sects. In addition to their 
rejection of "prelacy,^' both then and now, in frankness 
it must be said that Protestantism is opposed to Cathol- 
icism doctrinally and generally. This opposition is not 



30 UNITY AND ROME 

keen against the Protestant Episcopal Churcli, because on 
occasion and in some places the latter meets with them 
as a fellow-protestant body. The Sects probably look on 
Episcopalianism as only one more among the differing 
Denominations, differentiated from the others by its ritual 
and insistence on episcopacy. There is in all probability 
not much deep-seated bitterness among Sectarians towards 
Episcopalians, although naturally they must resent the 
exclusiveness of the Anglican clergy and their assumption 
of greater validity of Holy Orders. 

The position of sectarian protestants towards the East- 
em and Roman Churches in doctrinal matters should be 
logically the same since these two great Catholic Churches 
are practically at one in their Faith. In the case of the 
Roman Church, however, there is in addition the aid 
anti-papal antagonism still to be reckoned with. The Via 
Media of Anglicanism has accordingly the tremendous 
task, as far as the Sects are concerned, not only of over- 
coming the opposition to the re-ordination proposal with 
its accompanying doctrinal position, but also of bringing 
into agreement the Sects with the great Catholic Bodies 
above referred to. 

In the case of the Eastern Church, whose Catholicity 
even Rome does not question, the Via Media is obliged to 
turn another face, — her catholic face this time. That is 
the wonderful thing about "the Church of Comprehensive- 
ness.^^ She is able to meet the protestant bodies with 
an aspect of protestantism, while for catholic communions 
she displays her catholicity. It is certainly a remarkable 
achievement, and as far as we know, the Via Media has 
no peer in this respect. The only trouble is that some 
simple-minded people, not understanding the ins and outs 
of the matter, are puzzled. They would, perhaps not un- 
reasonably, like to have their Church one thing or the 
other. It is embarrassing sometimes to have the world 
look on us as protestant, when we feel that we are cath- 
olic. As things are now, unthinking outsiders persist 



THE "via MEDIa'^ 31 

in regarding the Koman Church as the Catholic Church, 
and the Protestant Episcopal Church such as its name 
implies. Probably, however, that is the penalty to be 
paid for being "the Church of Comprehensiveness/^ and 
one should not complain. It is difficult at times though 
to rest easily under the ambiguity. 

The mutual approaches and exchanges of courtesy thus 
far between Anglicans and Easterns for the purpose of 
bringing about inter-communion, and so promoting Unity, 
have reached a definite stage. The Easterns have stated 
in writing the points of doctrine which the Anglican 
Church must possess in order to give it in their eyes 
a catholic status. Anglicans have met these requirements 
with a detailed statement of their own position. 

The purpose of the present volume does not require 
discussion in detail of these declarations of belief. Both 
have been read carefully by the present writer, and 
of the two the Eastern statement gives the impression 
as being the more unhesitatingly catholic. There is 
something unmistakably via medial and savoring of com- 
promise in the Anglican answer, but that perhaps is to 
be expected in "the Church of Comprehensiveness." That, 
however, is not the point we are seeking to make clear. 
The undoubted fact brought out by this exchange of doc- 
trinal Confessions is that the Anglican Church must de- 
clare itself unequivocally Catholic in order to be received 
into official communion with the Eastern Church. 

This is very significant, when the Unity proposals are 
considered as a whole. It limits at once the hoped-for 
re-union to a catholic basis. The Church of the Via 
Media will not be free to be protestant with protestants, 
and catholic with catholics. It was for this reason that 
the author has ventured to say on a preceding page that 
"compromise as a working hypothesis seems no longer to 
answer." 

Wheii we come to consider the Roman Oatholic Church, 
the third and largest sector to be brought into Unity with 



32 ITNITY AND BOMB 

the rest of Christianity by the Anglican Church through 
its providential mission as the Via Media, we encounter a 
vastly different proposition. 

Just what the original proposers of the World Confer- 
ence on Faith and Order had in mind with respect to 
the Roman Church, it is impossible to say. In their faith 
and enthusiasm they may have pictured in their mind's 
eye Rome taking her place at the Conference along with 
the other Christian Bodies. In such case doubtless their 
vision included the picture of the Senior Bishop of Chris- 
tendom, or his representative, presiding as a matter of 
right over the Conference. What role they fancied Rome 
would play in the ensuing Unity we are not in a position 
to say. Perhaps the thought of the proposers of the 
Conference did not go much beyond the hope of getting 
Rome to attend. 

We know now that the Pope declined to take part in 
the Conference. 'Not that he lacked interest in the great 
project of Christian Unity. His refusal conveyed as 
gently and courteously as possible, the intimation that 
there was already a Catholic Church from which the 
founders of their various organizations had gone forth, 
and that Unity could be restored by returning and ac- 
knowledging the authority of the Apostolic See. 

What does the staying out of the largest Church in the 
world mean to the projected Conference and its possible 
results? Naturally it means that there can be no true 
Unity with Rome left out. 

Then again certain developments of recent date must 
necessarily affect the coming Conference. The official 
declarations of the Protestant Denominations are so dia- 
metrically opposed to those of the Eastern Catholic 
Churches that it looks very much at the present time as 
though the Church of the Via Media will experience con- 
siderable difficulty in remaining in the Middle of the 
Road hereafter. It looks to the ordinary observer as 
if it will be obliged to choose sides, particularly so if 



THE "via media" 33 

Anglicans desire to realize their hopes of official com- 
munion with the Eastern Church. There is of course one 
other alternative possible under the circumstances. The 
Anglican Communion may cling to its position as the Via 
Media, standing somewhere between frankly admitted 
Protestantism and out-and-out Catholicism. It is possible 
of course to go on indefinitely as the Church of compro- 
mise and comprehensiveness. It may miss its aim of 
"comprehending'^ others, but of course it can go on. 

The answer to the former of the two questions, proposed 
some pages back, we will reserve for a separate chapter. 



CHAPTEK VI 

GROUNDS FOR THE VIA MEDIA POSITIOIS' 

LET US approach the subject from the historical side. 
The beginnings of the Church in England take us 
back to an uncertain sub-apostolic foundation. Out of the 
mists of tradition a legend has persisted that St. Philip, 
having preached the faith to the Gauls, sent his friend 
St. Joseph of Arimathea, with eleven companions, to con- 
vert the Britons. The little band of missionaries landed 
on the west coast, and on the Isle of Avalon or Glaston- 
bury (not far from the Bristol Channel) began their 
labors and erected a church "in honor of the Mother of 
God." 

However this may have been, it appears from ancient 
writings that in the year 180 A.D. the British king 
Lucius besought Pope Eleutherius ^^to receive him into 
the One Fold, and to diffuse the light of the Gospel 
through Britain." In answer there came from Rome to 
Avalon two bishops. Pagan and Deruvian, who found the 
chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea still standing. 

The conversion of the Britons must have gone on apace, 
spreading to the East and North of what is now England. 
The Church made such progress that three British bishops 
— of York, London, and a neighboring diocese — attended 
the Council of Aries in Gaul in 314 A.D. This Council 
had been summoned by the Emperor Constantine for the 
purpose of ratifying the decrees of the Council of Rome 
held in 313 A.D. 

The circumstances attending these two councils throw 
some interesting light on the British Church of this 
period. It appears that three bishops of Gaul and fifteen 

34 



GEOUI^DS FOB THE VIA MEDIA POSITION 35 

Italian bishops had proceeded to Eome in 313 A.D., and 
there under the presidency of Melchiades, the Roman 
bishop, excommnnicated the heretic Donatus, and re- 
stored to his bishopric in Africa Csecilian, who had been 
supplanted by the Donatist Majorinus. The followers of 
Donatus claimed that the Council of Rome was made up 
of prejudiced men, and demanded a new trial before a 
neutral and impartial gathering. Hence the emperor 
called the Council at Aries, as explained above. 

Some significant facts emerge from these historical 
accounts. Evidently the bishops of Gaul and Britain were 
in communiou and official relation with the Bishop of 
Rome. They ratified at Aries what had been done at 
Rome. Instead of being an in(? ^pendent national church 
at this time, the Church in Britain (as might be ex- 
pected from its foundation) was loyal to the Apostolic 
See. 

A hundred years after Lucius sent his envoys to Rome 
the darkness, surrounding the early history of the British 
Church, lifts a little. The persecution under Diocletian 
(303-305) reached even as far as Britain. Its people 
witnessed the burning of the Scriptures in the streets, 
churches reduced to ashes, soldiers hunting out Christians, 
confespors wandering in the wilds, and martyrs, of whom 
St. Alban was the first, joyfully gaining their crown. 
It is in the period of rejoicing and rebuilding, which 
followed the persecution, that we hear of British bishops 
taking part in ecclesiastical affairs on the continent. Al- 
though the remains of those times are scanty, they are 
enough to show the catholic faith and practice of the 
British Church, and its loyalty to the See of Peter. Nev- 
ertheless, as William of Malmesbury (writing in a later 
century) tells us, we do not so much as know where the 
archepiscopal See of the British Church was located. 

St. Athanasius writes (Contra Arianos) that British 
bishops were present at the Council of Sardica (343 A.D.). 
As this was the council, wbicb in its III, XY^ V, and IX 



36 UNITY AND ROME 

Canons declared the Bishop of Rome to be the final judge 
and court of last resort in ecclesiastical trials involving 
bishops and other clerics, the participation of British 
bishops in the framing of these Canons shows clearly the 
relation of Britain to the Catholic Church. 

St. Augustine writing half a century later (397 A.D.), 
and referring to the just condemnation of Donatus by 
the Council of Aries, and its restoration of Caecilian to his 
See, says, "He (Caecilian) remained calmly at his post: 
he knew this was his right and duty; because he saw 
himself in communion with the Roman Church, where 
has always been the primacy of the Apostolic chair. '^ 
See Epistle 43, n. 7. 

Thus the names of these two great Fathers of the 
Church, St. Athanasius and St. Augustine, are linked with 
the Councils of Aries and Sardica, which strongly upheld 
the Primacy of the Roman See. British Bishops were 
present at these Councils, and doubtless their relations to 
the See of Peter did not differ from those of the other 
bishops in attendance. 

British bishops were also present at the Council of 
Ariminum 360 A.D., summoned by the Emperor Con- 
stantius, son of Constantine, and three of the delegation 
felt obliged to accept the Emperor's offer to pay the 
expenses of the visiting prelates. Other distinguished 
Fathers, in addition to St. Athanasius and St. Augustine, 
testified to the Catholic standing of the British Church. 
These were Hilary of Poitiers, who wrote about 358 A.D., 
St. Jerome and St. Chrysostom, a little later in the same 
century. Thus by attendance at Councils and by the 
commendation of men illustrious for their own loyalty 
to the Apostolic See, the Church in Britain is found to 
have been linked indissolubly with the rest of the Cath- 
olic Church throughout the world. 

The fact that Britain was a Roman province, from its 
conquest by the Emperor Claudius in 43 A.D. to the 
withdrawal of the imperial forces about 410 A.D. (in 



GROUNDS FOR THE VIA MEDIA POSITION 37 

order to repel the Gothic invasion at home), is another 
and quite natural explanation of the close ties between 
it and Rome. Roman civilization, speech, and culture 
played their part in thie planting and growth of a Church 
destined for centuries to be a branch of the great Roman 
Church. 

One other influence upon the British Church may be 
seen in the visits of Galilean bishops to overcome the 
Pelagian heresy. At Rome Pelagius, a native of Britain 
and of admirable life in other respects, denied original 
sin, and asserted that man could turn to God and serve 
Him without the help of Divine Grace. Although Pela- 
gius did not return to his own land, his admiring country- 
men took up his new views, and the heresy spread. The 
orthodox British Christians appealed to Gaul for aid. 
At the Council of Troyes it was decided to send Ger- 
manus, bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop of Troyes, 
to combat the heresy. They reached Britain in 429 A.D., 
and were successful in their efforts. Besides preaching 
in various places, they convened a synod at St. Alban's, 
in which the orthodox party won the victory. 

Fifteen years later the heresy broke out again, and 
once more Galilean bishops — this time Germanus and 
Severus, bishop of Treves, Lupus having died in the 
interval — responded to the call of their British brethren. 
On this occasion the erroneous doctrines were effectually 
banished, and as the Venerable Bede puts it, "The Faith 
of Britain remained inviolate." Troyes, Auxerre, Treves, 
and all Gaul were in communion with Rome. The result- 
ing relationship between the British Church and the 
Church at Rome speaks for itself. 

The Britons, owing perhaps to' the long period of 
Roman domination, seem to have lost the ability to govern 
and to organize effective military resistance. Accordingly, 
when the Picts and Scots began to harass them from 
the N'orth, they first called on the Romans to return, but 
the latter were fully occupied with the Goths. "Next Vor- 



38 UNITY AND ROME 

tigem, one of the British kings, appealed to the Jutes, 
a warlike tribe on the mainland. 

The first landing of the Jutes, under Hengist and 
Horsa, was on the Isle of Thanet at the mouth of the 
Thames in 449 A.D. They accomplished the object of 
their coming, and liked the new land so much that they 
determined to make it their home. Not content with 
the portion assigned them as a reward for their military 
services, they and subsequent bands of Jutes took perma- 
nent possession of East Kent. 

The Saxons began to come over in 4Y7, landing at 
Selsea on the south coast, and settled Sussex. Successive 
waves of Saxons peopled Wessex, Essex, and Middlesex. 
Then in 547, almost a hundred years after the coming 
of the Jutes, the Angles landed on the East coast. They 
were the largest and most powerful of the three Teutonic 
tribes, and occupied Northumbrian — the territory extend- 
ing from the river Humber to the Firth of Forth — 
eventually giving their name Angleland (England) to the 
whole country. East Anglia, and Mercia in the interior, 
were settled in turn. Thus the Heptarchy of seven Anglo- 
Saxon kingdoms was formed — Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wes- 
sex, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia. 

All this had not been done without fierce and bloody 
fighting. Gradually the Britons, called "Welsh" by their 
deriding conquerors because their language was unintelli- 
gible, were forced back into the West and Southwest 
regions of the Island. Everything Christian became an 
object of special hatred to these heathen warriors, and 
much was destroyed or desecrated. Then began a period 
of one hundred and fifty years of heathendom for the 
greater part of England, marked by a constant and un- 
relenting struggle between the two races. 

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes formed an impassable 
barrier between the British Church and their brethren in 
Gaul and in the rest of Europe. This explains the insular 
feeling that took hold of the British Christians during j^ 



GEOUNDS FOE. THE VIA MEDIA POSITION" 39 

century and a half of isolation. Their bishops were no 
longer able to sit in the Councils of the Catholic Church. 
They were shut off from continental Christianity, and 
came to look on themselves as an independent national 
Church, notwithstanding their Catholic origin and pre- 
vious history. This isolation of the British Church also 
explains its ignorance of what had taken place in the 
rest of the Church. For example, they did not know 
the new method for determining the date on which Easter 
should be observed. Apparently the British bishops did 
not know that the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., by a 
decree, had given the right of determining the date of 
Easter to the patriarchal See of Alexandria, and that 
Rome for the sake of agreement had abandoned the old 
way of keeping the 14th day of the Paschal moon, if it 
fell on Sunday. 

The British Church had not heard of this change on 
the part of Rome, and clung to the custom which was 
in vogue when the three British bishops attended the 
Council of Aries in 314 A.D. The new way was to 
make Easter the Sunday after the 14th of the Paschal 
moon, if the latter fell on a Sunday. 

It must not be thought, however, that the British 
Church stood still during this period of isolation. Dio- 
ceses were organized in Wales, monastic centers of learn- 
ing established, and missions undertaken at home and in 
Ireland. With their ruthless conquerors, it must be ad- 
mitted, the Britons made no attempt at evangelization. 

This was the situation when Pope Gregory the Great 
sent Augustine and his band of missionaries in 597 A.D. 
to convert the English. A little later the Pope appointed 
Augustine the first Archbishop of Canterbury. The Jutes 
in Kent were the first of the three tribes to be converted 
by the Roman missionaries. In 601 A.D. Augustine and 
his fellow clerics met the British bishops at the "Synod 
of the Oak" on the confines of Wessex and Wales, for 
the purpose of unifying the Church, inasmuch as Gregory 



40 UNITY AND ROME 

had committed the British bishops to the care and author- 
ity of Augustine as Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Certain differences developed between the two parties, 
namely, the date of keeping Easter, the form of clerical 
tonsure — the British shaved the front of their heads across 
the top from ear to ear, while the Romans used the cir- 
cular tonsure in imitation of the crown of thorns, — and 
the form of administering Baptism. These divergences 
of practice — ^wholly superficial and not at all affecting 
the fundamental belief, in which there was perfect agree- 
ment, — added to the natural antagonism between Celt and 
Italian, served to keep them apart, and Augustine was 
obliged to return without accomplishing his purpose. 

As time went on the Anglo-Saxons in the different 
kingdoms were gradually converted — Mercia holding out 
to the last — some by Roman missionaries, some by Gal- 
ilean, and even by raonks from lona and Lindisf ame in 
the case of Northumbria. We cannot dwell on the great 
work in IsTorthumbria done by Paulinus^ — sent from Rome 
by Gregory to help Augustine, — nor on that of Wilfrid in 
York and Sussex, nor of Birinus in Wessex, both of whom 
were strong adherents of Rome. 

Sixty-seven years after Augustine's landing in Eng- 
land, it was decided at the Council of Whitby, held in 
664 A.D., that the Roman custom of Keeping Easter 
should be observed. Although Whitby was only a local 
Northumbrian council, the decision had a great influence 
throughout the country. Wilfrid, whom we have men- 
tioned above, was the spokesman for the Roman side, and 
carried everything before him, including King Oswy's 
favorable judgment. 

One name stands out above the rest in this period of 
the Anglo-Saxon Church — Theodore, the great Archbishop 
of Canterbury, bom in Tarsus like St. Paul, consecrated 
by Pope Vitalian himself in 668, and said to have done 
more for the Church in England than any man before 
or since. By his wisdom, patience, and conciliatory 



GROUNDS FOB THE VIA MEDIA POSITION 41 

attitude, lie gave system to the loosely organized Cliurcli 
— placing seventeen bishops where there had been nine 
— and succeeded in amalgamating the rival missions of 
Celts and Romans. By degrees the Scotch, Irish, and 
British Churches came to recognize the Primacy of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, and through him the Apostolic 
prerogatives of the Eoman See. 



CHAPTER VII 

GROUNDS FOR THE VIA MEDIA POSITIOI^ (ContiuUed) 

FROM the time of Theodore to the Reformation the 
Church in England did not differ from other 
Churches in Western Christendom in its loyalty to the 
See of Peter. Pilgrimages to Rome were frequent^ — the 
pilgrims including kings^ queens, nobles, ecclesiastics, and 
commoners who could afford the journey. The English 
archbishops received the pallium from the Pope, bishops 
generally required papal approval for validity and regu- 
larity. Roman legates visited England from time to 
time, Peter's Pence during a long period was paid annu- 
ally, and speaking generally the pre-^eformation Church 
in England was firmly attached to thr Apostolic See. 

When the reign of Henry VIII is reached, we enter 
upon troublous times. While it is incorrect to say that 
the English Church was founded by the Tudor monarch, 
it is nevertheless true that his personal matters led to 
the separation from Rome. During the period of his 
loyalty to the Roman See he won from the Pope the title 
of "Defender of the Faith," because of his Treatise in 
defense of the Seven Sacraments. Before Henry sought 
his divorce from Queen Katharine in order to marry 
Anne Boleyn, the king never questioned papal authority. 
If the Pope had consented to the divorce, Henry VIII 
would never have proclaimed himself spiritual, as well 
as temporal, head of the English Church. The royal 
declaration that the Church of England was a national 
church, free, independent, and competent to legislate in 
all ecclesiastical matters without recourse to Rome did not 
proceed from any pure and lofty desire of reformation 

42 



GEOUNDS FOR THE VIA MEDIA POSITION (CONT.) 43 

but from the perfectly well understood plan of furthering 
the king's wishes where they ran counter to divine and 
ecclesiastical law. After several Universities in France 
and Italy had declined to usurp the papal prerogative, 
Oxford and Cambridge^ more subservient to their master- 
ful monarch, granted the divorce, and Cranmer who had 
first suggested their ability to do so was rewarded by 
being made the first archbishop of the Church of England 
as established by law. 

Henry, however, was too staunch a Catholic in his be- 
lief to depart from the Faith in which he had been 
brought up and in defense of which he had written. He 
showed this by issuing the Six Articles, called ^^the Bloody 
Articles,^' because of the death penalty prescribed upon 
any who did not accept Transubstantiation and other doc- 
trines of the old Church. These points of belief, insisted 
upon by the King, included auricular confession, the sac- 
rifice of the Mass, veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
and the Saints, and in fact all the Faith to which the 
people had been accustomed except the authority of the 
Pope. To make his intentions more clear as to what his 
people should believe Henry set forth a second statement, 
called the Ten Articles, in which the principal tenets of 
the Catholic Faith were enunciated at greater length. 
This was the condition of things in the English Church 
at the death of Henry VIII. 

Upon the accession of his son, the boy Edward VI, 
brought up under reforming influences, and with Cran- 
mer also leaning that way, the Prayer Book of 1549 was 
put forth in English, and was fairly Catholic in its teach- 
ing. The 1549 Prayer Book, however, did not go far 
enough to suit the German divines who were holding pro- 
fessorships in the English universities. The result was 
the second Prayer Book of 1552, which favored the new 
opinions rather more, and opened the way to that com- 
prehensiveness by which Cranmer and his colleagues hoped 
to hold within the Church of England the people who 



44 UNITY AND ROME 

were influenced by the protestant reformation on tlie con- 
tinent. 

The death of the boy King and the six years restora- 
tion of the Roman Church under Queen Mary, with its 
accompanying bigotry and religious persecution, widened 
the breach between England and Rome. When the prot- 
estant Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558 the 
rupture became complete. The Prayer Book of 1558 was 
put forth, and the norm of comprehensiveness, which has 
given the Anglican Church its claim to be the Via Media, 
was definitely established. Not long after, the Pope 
excommunicated Elizabeth and all who held with her the 
Anglican position. Subsequently the Church of England 
gave additional expression to its theological and ecclesias- 
tical attitude by adding to its Prayer Book the Thirty- 
jtTine Articles, which its clergy were required to sign at 
their ordination. These Articles have since come to be 
regarded as the unfortunate and unnecessary expression 
of a passing quarrel. The promulgators of the Thirty- 
Nine Articles, however, regarded them as crystallizing the 
Anglican position and as being in the line of compre- 
hensiveness. Happily the American Church has never 
required her clergy to sign these Articles as a condition 
of ordination. 

Many Anglicans at the present day — ignoring the one 
thousand years in round numbers of England^s allegiance 
to Rome, from the landing of Augustine in 597 to the 
secession of Henry VIII — claim descent from the early 
British Church, and base the right of the Church of 
England to be an independent national Church upon its 
existence. As a matter of fact the early British Church 
was absorbed and amalgamated by the Roman Church 
under Archbishop Theodore, as pointed out on a preced- 
ing page. Eurthermore the English people are descended 
from the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, converted for the 
most part by Roman missionaries. The Britons were not 
their forbears. 



GEOUNDS FOE. THE VIA MEDIA POSITION (CONT.) 45 

It was natural in the years that followed the Reforma- 
tion that some Anglicans should cleave to the ways of the 
old Church. Archbishop Laud, the typical High Church- 
man of the early days of Anglicanism, made a brave 
effort to keep up the faith and practice, which he believed 
was the Catholic heritage of the English Church. The 
reaction against Rome, however, was too strong, too re- 
cent, and he paid the price of his temerity with his life. 
Then England entered upon the days of the fox-hunting 
parson, the period when Orders racked as a profession 
suitable for the younger sons of good families, leaving 
the Army and the N"avy for their elder brothers. It was 
a time of general lethargy and easy complacency in the 
English Church. Conformity to the standards of the 
Established Church was the controlling principle, and the 
Church came to be looked upon in large measure as an 
appendage of the State. 

In the early part of the last century it began to occur 
to men like John Henry » ]!Tewman that there was a 
higher sanction in matters of faith and practice than 
the laws of Parliament and the personal views of the 
sovereign. ISTewman and his friends began to read the 
Fathers of the Church and to study its history at first 
hand. The result was the Tractarian Movement, or Cath- 
olic Revival, in the Church of England. In place of 
the black preaching gowns savoring of Geneva, and 
of the infrequent administration of the Lord^s Supper, 
as it was called, the ancient vestments and colors of the 
Church were restored, and the weekly, or even daily, 
celebrations of the Holy Sacrifice began to be offered in 
an ever increasing number of churches. The old Lord's 
Table — standing in the body of the church — ^was replaced 
by the Altar adorned with cross and candles, and erected 
in its ancient position at the east end of the sacred edifice. 
Most significant of all, Catholic doctrine began to be 
taught regarding the authority of the Church, the Min- 
istry, and the Sacraments. The old days, when a vested 



46 TTNITY AND EOME 

choir was looked upon as a dangerous High Church inno- 
vation, had gone forever. Men knew better now. The 
difference between the Catholic Faith and Protestantism 
was seen to be something deeper, more fundamental. 

Clergy and laity, who believe in the rightfulness of 
the Catholic position, have organized themselves both in 
England and in the IJnited States. The English Church 
Union, and the Clerical Union for the Maintenance and 
Defense of Catholic Principles in this country, have very 
clear and fixed ideas regarding faith and practice. Al- 
though in a minority, it is scarcely probable that they will 
recede from the positions taken. 

It was not an accident that the Anglo-Catholic Congress 
in England met in such close conjunction with the Lam- 
beth Conference and the Preliminary Meeting at Geneva 
of the World Conference on Faith and Order. That im- 
pressive demonstration of English Catholicism was doubt- 
less intended to show the Anglican Communion that a 
very considerable part of its membership would not sac- 
rifice the Catholic heritage of the Church for the sake 
of union with Protestants of various and conflicting 
views. The absence of English and American Bishops 
for the most part from the sessions of the Anglo-Catholic 
Congress was quite pronounced. It indicates, however, 
that a Church of Comprehensiveness dislikes to commit 
itself. It is not — or at least in the past has not been — 
the plan of the Church of comprehensiveness to take sides. 

What the future has in store for the Anglican Com- 
munion no man can say at the present time. One side 
of the movement towards Unity is looking hopefully in 
the direction of intercommunion with the Oriental 
Churches. The other side is inclined to make advances 
to the Protestant Denominations. Unless the latter can 
bring themselves to accept "the faith once for all de- 
livered to the saints,'' it looks as if union with them can 
only be purchased at a price, which English and American 
Catholics will never be willing to pay. The situation 



GEOUNDS FOB THE VIA MEDIA POSITION (CONT.) 47 

amounts to what may be called a dilemma for the Epis- 
copal Church in this country and for the Anglican Com- 
munion generally. 'No doubt many of its members would 
be glad to have the Church take one horn or the other. 

Of late another perplexing factor has rendered the gen- 
eral Anglican problem more difficult, — namely, the re- 
cent Modernist Conference at Cambridge, England. At 
this gathering a number of clergy in good and regular 
standing in the Church of England — some of them hold- 
ing prominent cures — have openly denied belief in doc- 
trines hitherto considered essential to orthodox Christi- 
anity. Among the articles of belief attacked are the 
Virgin Birth of our Lord, and by implication the Holy 
Trinity Itself, the bodily Resurrection of Christ on the 
third day following His Crucifixion, and in general the 
miracles recorded in the New Testament. These denials 
constitute the most explicit avowal of heterodoxy ever 
made by Anglican clergy. It puts even the Church of 
Comprehensiveness to a very painful strain. Unless Epis- 
copal discipline has utterly failed among Anglicans, the 
situation would seem to demand positive action. The great 
Catholic Communions will, we imagine, look askance at such 
daring denials, the Eastern Orthodox Church in particular. 

It is with such a historic background of Catholic ante- 
cedents, tinctured with elements of "the new learning" 
dating from the Eeformation period, that the Anglican 
Church presents itself as the Via Media to a divided and 
disrupted Christianity. There is much that is noble, 
beautiful, and inspiring in its aspirations and worship. 
Whether it can attain its ideal as the healing force among 
the separated churches, remains to be seen. It would 
seem, however, from recent developments that definiteness 
of theological position and a resumption of legitimate 
Episcopal discipline — or the frank abandonment of the 
same — are prerequisites to genuine leadership. ITeither 
men nor churches are apt to follow uncertain or diflfering 
leaders. 



CHAPTEK YIII 

DEBATABLE GROUND 

IN" matters ecclesiastical debatable ground lies outside 
of Divine Law. Where the mind of God has de- 
clared itself by revelation or inspiration there is no longer 
ground for debate. The point is settled so far as man 
is concerned, and can only be changed by God HimseK. 
When Christians through their unhappy divisions chal- 
lenge the faith or practice of this or that portion of Chris- 
tianity, they can do so with propriety oidy in the sphere 
of human law. 

For example, the belief in the Ever Blessed Trinity, 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, rests upon the revelation 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and no group of New England 
intellectuals or any persons whosoever can properly make 
that doctrine a matter for debate. Of course the Uni- 
tarians do it by denying the Divinity of Christ, but it 
requires destructive criticism of that character to make 
such a denial of revealed Truth. Or again, take that 
article of the Nicene Creed, '^1 believe One, Holy, Cath- 
olic, and Apostolic Church'^ (the original form of the 
article is given), which rests upon the inspiration of the 
Holy Ghost promised by Christ to His Church, acting in 
this instance through a General or Ecumenical Council. 
'No one can rightly debate this article of the Creed without 
striking at the very roots of the Church and of Christian- 
ity itself. 

When we come to the domain of human law, we enter 
a region involving times, customs, expediency, and occa- 
sionally the overweening power of individuals. Human 
law possesses no absolute sanction. It is liable to change 

48 



DEBATABLE GROUND 49 

and error. It may be revoked, or its operation suspended, 
without violation of essential truth or justice. The 
Church, being of divine foundation but of human admin- 
istration, is not wholly inerrant in all its phases, but when 
it does err it will be on its human side. 

With regard to the possibility of change or suspension 
of operation of human law in the Church, take for ex- 
ample the celibacy of the clergy — now the rule in the 
Koman Church — or the tonsure, the ceremonial clipping 
of the hair on the crown of the head, marking the candi- 
date's first step towards Holy Orders. These practices 
are not of divine warrant, possess no absolute sanction, 
and are therefore capable of abeyance or even abandon- 
ment. We are not now discussing the wisdom or de- 
sirability of such practices, but only the degree of author- 
ity on which they rest. Likewise the ceremonies of the 
Mass — the genuflections, elevations, signs of the cross, 
position of the hands, and similar matters — ^however rev- 
erential, beautiful, and appropriate they may be, are not 
of divine origin. On the other hand, he would indeed 
be temerarious who should deny that the Mass itself 
is not the Holy Sacrifice for the living and the dead, in- 
stituted by Christ HimseK. ^^This do in remembrance 
of Me.'' 

The consideration of human law involves another prin- 
ciple, which clothes it with paramount authority — namely, 
the universal acceptance through a considerable period 
of time of any interpretation of a legal usage. The 
expression "common law" indicates what is meant. The 
wisdom of mankind, or the general consensus of opinion 
during the centuries, confers the highest possible sanction 
upon human enactment. This sanction does not attain to 
the height of divine authority, but as far as human matters 
are concerned it is the court of last resort. 

In the discussion of Church Unity, therefore, pro- 
posers of Concordats and traffickers generally in the Cath- 
olic heritage of the Church will do well to remember that 



50 UNITY AND ROME 

the line of concession and abandonment lies distinctly out- 
side the field of Divine Law. In the matter of the Sac- 
raments, for example, the Catholic Church has always 
held that there are seven. Accordingly the Lambeth Con- 
ference — admittedly a body without legislative power — 
cannot properly recommend a program of reunion, which 
entails a policy of ordination of protestant ministers with- 
out compelling them first to receive the sacrament of Con- 
firmation. iN'or can a national Church, as for instance 
the Church in Canada, acting upon the statement put forth 
by the Lambeth Conference, offer to ordain nonconform- 
ists without insisting upon Confirmation. The petition, 
therefore, signed by a considerable number of Canadians 
urging their bishops not to adopt such a course, is quite 
within the rights of the petitioners. When we read in 
the Acts of the Apostles that "the Apostles laid their 
hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost," the 
matter is settled as far as the Catholic Church is con- 
cerned. Apostolic practice is the rule, and no group of 
men in the twentieth century can lawfully arrogate to 
themselves the right to set up a new rule. 

The same holds good for the Ministry and the Creeds, 
From the days of the Apostles there have been Deacons, 
Priests, and Bishops. The ministers of ordination have 
been invariably bishops of Apostolic succession. The bur- 
den of proof is on those who deny this. To maintain their 
position they are obliged to assert that the undivided 
Church in the early centuries of its existence was mis- 
taken. The arrogant position of reformation leaders was 
in reality this — on them in the sixteenth century the light 
of truth dawned for the first time. All before them were 
in error. The reformers alone had the right of things. 
The absurdity of such a position is of course apparent. 
If these self-appointed receptacles of the Light are cor- 
rect, then the Catholic Church throughout the ages has 
been wrong. 

In some quarters also there is a disposition to soften 



DEBATABLE GEOUND 61 

away the claims of the Nicene Creed, which is naturally 
objectionable to many protestants for the very good reason 
that it is distinctly a catholic creed. Here again we en- 
counter the principle set forth in this chapter, namely, 
that debatable matters lie necessarily outside the sphere 
of divine law. Unless we deny Christ's promise to His 
Church of guidance by the Holy Ghost into all truth, 
we must admit that guidance in the greatest act of its 
corporate life — the decisions of a General Council. The 
Creed set forth by the General Councils of Nicsea and 
Constantinople cannot be waived without giving up the 
Church itself. Matters of concession and abandonment 
must be sought for elsewhere than in the Sacraments, the 
Apostolic Ministry, and the jtTicene Creed. 

Where then lies the debatable ground? Manifestly 
in the domain of things non-essential, in the region of 
local or national uses, in special cults and pious practices, 
in rites and ceremonies. Take, for example, the eccle- 
siastical dress of bishops, different among the Komans, 
Greeks, and Anglicans. Yet no one would claim that the 
validity of Orders depends upon any particular garb. 
Or again, the use of scapulars, medals, and other blessed 
objects may promote reverence and devotion among one 
people, and not be held in the same estimation by another 
people. 

The Temporal Power of the Popes is an example upon 
a larger scale of something which was not of the essence 
of the Church. When that power was done away, it 
did not destroy or even maim the Church. Indeed, even 
Koman theologians may be found who assert that the 
Church, purified of this worldly element, is better fitted 
to accomplish its great work of saving souls. This men- 
tion of the peculiar work of the Church — the salvation 
of souls — very naturally calls to mind the spiritual char- 
acter of the Church. When the spirituality of the Church 
has been preserved free from the taint of worldliness with 
its attendant evils — pride, ambition, greed, and lust — 



62 UNITY AND EOME 

then the Church has won and held the ready confidence 
and steadfast loyalty of all sorts and conditions of men. 
Pure, unfeigned love begets love. Men respond to its 
appeal^ and since God is love and the Church is His, the 
Church is at its best when it relies upon its spiritual 
character and powers. Debatable ground, therefore, in- 
cludes the accretions of worldliness, which have fastened 
themselves upon the Church in the course of centuries and 
which hinder its usefulness by giving offense to this or 
that portion of mankind. 

In conclusion, we may very well bear in mind regarding 
debatable ground Christ's solemn warning to Saint Peter, 
"Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the 
things that be of God, but the things that be of men.'^ 
St. Mark VIII, 33. 



CHAPTEE IX 

THE PRIMACY OF PETER 

IT may as well be said at once tliat Rome stands in 
a position of peculiar advantage with respect to her 
claim to be the mother and mistress of all churches. 
The Petrine Privileges rest in the first instance upon 
the words of Christ, as recorded in the 'New Testament. 
These passages are found in the oldest manuscripts, and 
it has never been charged that they were forged or inter- 
polated by men seeking to bolster up the Roman claims. 

If Reformation controversies had not introduced an- 
tagonism to Rome, these passages would continue to 
be received at their face value, in all probability, by 
Christians generally. The humble, wholly believing Peter 
had nothing to do with the appearance of these words. 
Indeed, he had sealed his faith by martyrdom before 
any or most of them were written. The passages are woven 
into the web and woof of the sacred narratives in the 
most natural and intimate way. Their occurrence in the 
inspired writings of the Evangelists can only be accounted 
for by the super-fact that the Divine Founder of the 
Church used these words on the occasions indicated. 

Remembering that Christ had promised the guidance 
of the Holy Ghost into all truth, surely that leading must 
include the inspiration of the writers of the New Testa- 
ment. How shall we explain otherwise than by the will 
of God that Peter is made to play so singular and promi- 
nent a part in the four Gospels? It is not only that he 
is named always first in the lists of the Apostles, and was 
with Christ on special occasions and addressed by Him 
to the exclusion of the other Apostles, that he entered the 

53 



54 TJISriTY AND ROME 

empty Tomb first and was privileged to see the Risen 
Lord in advance of his colleagues, but there were other 
signs of divine favor granted to Peter, which cannot be 
meaningless in so serious and important a matter as the 
founding of the Kingdom of God on earth — His Church. 
As has been noted in a preceding chapter, our Lord in 
calling Peter to the Apostolate singled him out for special 
distinction, as if He meant to show clearly from the first 
evidence of the divine purpose. 

Almost like a fairy story reads that passage where the 
Master highly privileges Peter to pay their tribute money 
together, but it is all cumulative evidence of a divine 
plan. "And when they were come to Capernaum, they 
that received tribute money came to Peter, and said. Doth 
not your master pay tribute ? He saith. Yes. And when 
he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, 
What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of 
the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, 
or of strangers? Peter saith unto Him, Of strangers. 
Jesus saith unto him. Then are the children free. Not- 
withstanding lest we should offend them, go thou to the 
sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh 
up : and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find 
a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for Me 
and thee.^^ St. Matthew XVII, 24-27. 

When they came to take Christ at His betrayal, it was 
the faithful Peter who drew the sword to defend His 
Lord. "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and 
smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. 
The servant's name was Malchus." St. John XVIII, 10. 
On this occasion Christ did not command Peter to throw 
away or destroy his sword. He said instead, "Put up 
thy sword into the sheath," reminding Peter that it was 
necessary for Him to drink the cup which the Father 
had given Him. 

It was Peter to whom Christ told the divine limits of 
forgiveness, "seventy times seven," which was to be the 



THE PEIMACY OF PETER 55 

Christian rule. It was to the same Apostle also that 
the Saviour related the parable of the faithful steward, 
doubtless intending thereby to instruct Peter how he 
should act in presiding over the Church as the Prince 
of the Apostles. 

At the Transfiguration it was with Peter Christ con- 
versed, and to him later on described the events which 
should precede the end of the world. When the Master 
was washing the feet of His disciples, it was the loving 
Peter who said unto Him, ^^Lord, not my feet only, but 
my hands and my head." St. John XIII, 9. It was 
Peter, too, who dared to walk upon the sea to meet his 
Lord, and it was the same Apostle, who girt on his fisher's 
coat and cast himseK into the sea, when he learned His 
Lord was on the shore. Finally it was quite in keeping 
with the Primatial Privilege of Peter, that although other 
Apostles were present he alone drew the miraculous 
draught of fishes to land so that none were lost. "Simon 
Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great 
fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there 
were so many, yet was not the net broken." St. John 
XXI, 11. 

The Gospels, in the passages quoted above, set forth 
what may be called the divine side of Peter's primacy — 
namely, the choice of Peter by Christ to be the Prince 
of the Apostles, the powers and jurisdiction conferred 
on him by our Lord, and the signal marks of the Master's 
favor bestowed on Peter from time to time. There re- 
main to be considered in this connection two important 
points— Peter's acceptance and exercise of his primatial 
authority, and the attitude of the other Apostles towards 
their chief. Later on it will be in order to consider how 
the Church at large regarded the Primacy of Peter, as 
witnessed by the Councils and Fathers. 

The writer of the Acts of the Apostles — quite generally 
agreed to be St. Luke — has never been accused of holding 
a brief for the Roman Church. His account therefore 



66 UNITY AND ROME 

of the Apostolic age of the Church must be accepted as 
correct and unbiased. Let us see what light he throws 
on the Primacy of Peter. 

It is of immense significance that the first official and 
corporate act of the Church after the Ascension of Christ 
was the election of the Apostle Matthias in place of the 
traitor Judas, and this done at the express call and com- 
mand of Peter. The Apostolic College being once more 
complete, the Church was in a position for the descent of 
the Holy Ghost. Peter, being converted, was surely 
strengthening his brethren. PoUowing the coming of the 
Spirit of Truth, it was eminently fitting that Peter, as 
the chief of the Apostles, should preach the first Christian 
sermon by which three thousand souls were added to the 
Church. It was in keeping, also, that the Pisherman 
should perform the first miracle wrought by the hands 
of the Apostles, and by his further preaching add another 
five thousand to the infant Church. 

How can any one read of the punishment meted out 
to Ananias and Sapphira, and doubt that Peter was ex- 
ercising the power of the keys ? When the people brought 
forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds 
and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing 
by might overshadow some of them, and they were all 
healed every one, in what preeminent regard must we 
think the Church and his fellow Apostles held their di- 
vinely appointed leader ? As Peter in this latter capacity 
was visiting all quarters where the Church was then es- 
tablished, it was he who healed ^neas of palsy at Lydda, 
and was sent for to come to Joppa where he restored 
Tabitha to life. 

Surely the Divine Head of the Church was teaching 
Peter how he should exercise his Primacy, when He sent 
him the vision of the vessel let down from heaven as it 
had been a great sheet knit at the four comers and con- 
taining all manner of creatures, telling him at the same 
time that henceforth he should regard nothing as common 



THE PEIMACY OF PETEE 57 

or unclean. Following the vision it was quite natural 
that Cornelius, the Roman centurion and Gentile, having 
sent for Peter as the chief one in authority among the 
Christians, should be instructed by the Fisherman with- 
out distinction between Jew and Gentile. 

God permitted the wicked Herod to kill James, the 
brother of John, notwithstanding he was an Apostle, but 
Peter whom Christ had appointed to a special and neces- 
sary work was delivered from prison and chains. At the 
first Council of the Church in the year 50 at Jerusalem 
it is again Peter who is the chief speaker and lays down 
the rule to be followed in the future in dealing with Gen- 
tile converts. Humanly speaking it is unfortunate that 
the Acts of the Apostles make no mention of Peter after 
the fifteenth chapter. We should have liked to hear of 
his work at Antioch where he consecrated its first Bishop, 
of his missionary labors in Asia Minor, of his visit to 
Greece on his way to Pome, and finally of his founding 
the Church in the imperial city, crowning all with his 
martyrdom. 

We could wish that Saint Peter in his two epistles 
had made some direct reference to his Primacy. His first 
epistle is addressed to the brethren in Asia Minor, where 
according to tradition he labored after leaving Antioch, 
The Apostle states that he is writing from Babylon 
(Rome). Undoubtedly the imperial city is meant, as 
ancient Babylon even in those days had long since passed 
out of existence. It was doubtless out of humility that 
Peter did not urge his own authority as Prince of the 
Apostles and Head of the Church. He prefers rather 
to rest his claim to be heard on his witnessing of the 
sufferings of Christ. 

Peter, unlike the bold and self-assertive Paul, keeps 
himself in the background. The other Apostles and the 
Church generally knew of the exalted position assigned 
to Peter by Christ Himself. He had no need to magnify 
himself. He had not so learned Christ. Jesus had said, 



68 TTNITY AND EOMB 

'^Come learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart/^ 
and Peter had learned that lesson once for all. When 
he exhorts the elders, he does it as one who is also an 
elder. When he bids them feed the flock of God, he 
remembers doubtless Christ's thrice-repeated command to 
himself. When he reminds them not to act as lords 
over God's heritage but as ensamples to the flock, Peter is 
speaking from the fullness of his own heart. He is 
setting forth the rule he follows in his own life. 

In the first chapter of Saint Peter's second epistle 
occurs a passage which is quite in keeping with his chief 
oversight of the Church. "Wherefore I will not be neg- 
ligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, 
though ye know them, and be established in the present 
truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this 
tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance : 
knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, 
even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. More- 
over I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease 
to have these things always in remembrance. For we have 
not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made 
known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.'' II Peter 
I, 12-16. 

Surely Christ in choosing the first chief bishop of the 
Church would select a man of great and equable spirit, 
one thoroughly imbued with the Christlike, character. 
Mark then how Peter speaks of Paul, and contrast it with 
the latter's boastful and pugnacious assertion regarding 
the chief of the Apostles. "And account that the long- 
suffering of our Lord is salvation: even as our beloved 
brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him 
hath written unto you: as also in all his epistles, speak- 
ing in them of these things: in which are some things 
hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned 
and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, 
unto their own destruction." II Peter III, 15-16. 



THE PEIMACY OF PETBB 69 

There is no jealousy in this language of Peter, no 
narrowness, only deep humility and sublime charity. 
These are the fitting characteristics of the man chosen 
by our Lord to be the first in authority among the 
Apostles. Christ is vindicated in Peter. 

Regarding the attitude which the other Apostles held 
towards Peter, unfortunately for our present purpose they 
have left nothing in writing. According to tradition, as 
recorded by the father of church history Eusebius, the 
Twelve at an early date following the descent of the 
Holy Ghost agreed upon their fields of labor, and went 
their ways preaching the kingdom of heaven and estab- 
lishing the Church in the regions whither they went. 
Only John and Jude among the twelve Apostles wrote 
Epistles, and they make no mention of Peter. 

Saint Paul, who was not of the Twelve, does, however, 
make some significant references to Peter in his Epistle 
to the Galatians. In the first chapter he uses the fol- 
lowing language. ^'Then after three years I went up 
to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen 
days. But other of the Apostles saw I none, save James 
the Lord's brother.'' Gal. I, 18-19. Evidently the in- 
trepid Paul was aware of Peter's preeminence in the 
Church, and realized the importance of receiving counsel 
and endorsement from the chief of the Apostles. In the 
second chapter of the same epistle Paul speaks of his 
return to Jerusalem after fourteen years and asserts that 
the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto him, 
as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter. 
The former is obliged to admit Peter's primacy over Jew- 
ish Christians, but he would limit it by claiming an 
equal authority over the Gentiles, forgetting that Christ's 
commission to Peter included the whole Church. A few 
verses later on Paul boasts that he withstood Peter to 
the face in Antioch, thus admitting the latter's superior 
position and his own courage in withstanding even the 
Head of the Church. Saint Paul in the fifteenth chap- 



60 UNITY AND EOMB 

ter of I Corinthians does say that Peter had the great 
privilege of seeing the Risen Lord first of the Apostles, 
but in the second chapter of Galatians, if we understand 
him aright, Paul seems to speak grudgingly of Peter, 
when he says, '^And when James, Cephas, and John, who 
seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given 
unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands 
of fellowship : that we should go unto the heathen, and 
they unto the circumcision.'^ Peter did not merely seem 
to be a pillar. He was the chief pillar and appointed by 
Christ Himself. Paul, also, should have named Peter the 
first of the three, as no one thought of this James (the 
Lord's brother), as having the preeminence over Peter. 
Even in this verse, however, Paul recognizes the impor- 
tance of receiving the right hand of fellowship from 
Peter and his colleagues. 

It would appear that Saint Paul, great missionary Apos- 
tle though he was, had not quite learned the lesson of 
His Master's humility. He was still human and subject 
to the frailty of human pride, even as many of his suc- 
cessors in the sacred ministry are to-day. Let us hope 
that in the last days of their earthly careers in Rome 
these two great Apostles — each called by Christ to do 
a great work for His Church — ^were filled with mutual 
love and appreciation of each other. Tradition says that 
they were, comforting each other as they passed on the 
way to martyrdom, and thus fittingly closing their joint 
work in founding the Church at Rome by making the 
supreme sacrifice for their Lord. 

We might say in concluding our consideration of the 
relations obtaining between these two eminent Saints of 
God that in the first Epistle to the Corinthians Paul, in 
cautioning the Christians at Corinth against factions, 
whereby some call themselves after Paul, some after 
Apollos, others after Cephas (Peter), and still others 
after Christ, bears out the ancient tradition that Peter 
labored in Greece on his way to Rome. 



THE PEIMAOY OF PETEE 61 

The matter of the regard in which Peter was held by 
the Church at large will be dealt with in another place, 
namely, in the chapters on the Testimony of the Fathers 
and the Councils. 



CHAPTEE X 

THE CONTIJ^UITY OF THE PRIMACY 

IN the chapter on The Primacy of Peter was given 
what we have called the Divine side of the Fisher- 
man's chief Apostleship, namely, the choice of Peter by 
Christ, together with the special instructions, powers, and 
jurisdiction conferred upon him by our Lord. Protestants 
generally, even when they have admitted the individual 
primacy of Peter, have denied that these powers and privi- 
leges have been continued in his successors, the Bishops 
of Rome. The usual assertion and favorite contention 
of protestants is that the Papacy originated in the Middle 
Ages and was the result of the worldly ambition and 
love of power on the part of certain designing Popes. 
When the stem light of history, thrown upon the medieval 
period, has forced these controversialists to seek a more 
distant beginning for the Papacy, they have hit upon some 
earlier Pope, as Gregory the Great, Leo I, or Victor, as 
the originator of the Roman Supremacy. 

Rome, on the other hand, relying upon the words of 
Christ, "Lo, I am with you always even unto the end 
of the world," "And the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it'' (the Church) taken in conjunction with our 
Lord's language to Peter, has claimed continuity of juris- 
diction from the Apostolic Age to the present day. The 
records of the past are open to all. The writings of the 
Fathers, the Acta of Councils, and the unbroken Tradition 
descending from the earliest Christian centuries, offer a 
field of research for all unbiased scholarship. In seeking 
a Catholic basis for Unity the annals of Christian an- 
tiquity cannot be neglected or waved aside. Whatever 

62 



THE COI^TTINUITY OF THE PRIMACY 63 

may be our particular predisposition in the present dis- 
turbed condition of Christianity, simple truth and justice 
demand a fearless facing of the facts. If those seeking 
Unity are sincere, if they place the peace and unity 
of all of Christ's Flock above the interests of the par- 
ticular religious group to which they now adhere, then 
the bigotry and prejudice of the post-reformation period 
must give way to a general attitude of fair play and 
patient reasonableness. 

The policy of conciliation and fairness must not be 
confined to nor demanded of one side of the contention. 
Rome must not be overbearing or unreasonably exacting 
in her attitude. Protestants must once and for all give 
up their unchristian habit of suspicion and over-ready 
condemnation. In two matters only must both sides be 
inexorably unyielding — the exercise of true charity and 
the maintenance of the Catholic Faith, that Faith once 
for all delivered to the saints. "And they continued 
steadfast in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship.'' Prot- 
estantism — of a comparatively recent growth — must not 
expect to retain innovations of the Faith. On the other 
hand Rome cannot, dare not, abandon any part of her 
Catholic heritage — the sacred deposit of Apostolic Faith. 

Some one may say at this point, where then lies the 
common meeting-ground, where are we to find a reasonable 
basis for Unity? If Rome is to continue her unbending 
attitude, if Protestants cling defiantly to their various 
tenets, what hope is there of re-union ? There is no hope 
so long as both parties to the controversy preserve their 
present attitude. The way to Unity lies along the path 
of peace and mutual recognition of what is good on the 
other side. There must be concession, and yet there cannot 
be surrender of essentials. Accretions, local usage, imperi- 
alistic claims, anything in fact contrary to the simplicity 
of Christ and Apostolic practice are not essential in the 
last analysis. On the other hand the abandonment by 
Protestantism of much that the Church has believed and 



64 UNITY AND EOME 

practiced from the beginning cannot be admitted into any 
platform of future Unity. There is a common basis for 
Protestant and Catholic to meet upon, but it is distinctly 
a Catholic basis. To say otherwise would be to stultify 
the faith and practice of the greater part of Christianity 
during all the centuries preceding the Reformation. And 
be it further said, such an admission would stultify the 
religious belief of the greatest body of Christians at the 
present day. 

There is in the discussion of Unity a point which is 
not generally recognized nor appreciated by one of the 
parties to the quarrel. It is a point naturally wounding 
to the pride of one side. Frankly speaking both parties 
do not enter the discussion with the same or equal stand- 
ing. It must be remembered that Protestantism broke 
'away from the Unity. Luther and other exploiters of 
individualism in matters of belief forsook the Church of 
their fathers. Rome maintained its position. If in the 
good providence of God a general council of conciliation 
is brought about. Home will come into that council as 
the Mother Church. It is idle to think or hope otherwise. 
When a human or earthly mother meets with her chil- 
dren after some estrangement, while she is tender and 
forgiving, while she may acknowledge impatience and 
lack of wisdom, some misunderstanding of her children, 
she is stiU the mother. It is beyond the bounds of reason 
to think that Rome can do otherwise. 

How the great heart of Jesus Christ must grieve, how 
the angels weep, to look down from the throne of God 
and behold the animosities of Christians! Both sides 
are to blame. Roman intolerance and arrogance are not 
according to the mind of Christ. That Protestant preju- 
dice, blind and unreasoning, which is so ready to say 
that a thing is wrong simply because it is Roman, savors 
not of the teaching of the Son of God. Jesus said, "Come 
learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly of heart." When 
will His followers learn that lesson? There is no plat- 



THE CONTINUITY OF THE PEIMACY 65 

form of Unity inconsistent with the words and example 
of the Divine Head of the Church. So long as men place 
their own will above the will of God the cause of Unity 
is hopeless. 



CHAPTEK XI 

THE CLAIMS OF ROME 

BETWEEN the days of Apostolic simplicity and the 
present time there has gone on in the Roman Church 
a gradual process of development, involving elaboration, 
complexity, and a hardening of the lines. This should 
not be wondered at. The Church is a living organism, 
and necessarily had to pass through the stages of infancy 
and youth in order to reach maturity. In its beginning 
the Church was quite naturally a missionary organization, 
whose chief concern was the conversion of the Jewish 
and Gentile world surrounding it. Without Service books, 
church buildings, or even a written Creed, we can readily 
understand how Apostolic zeal gave itself to spreading the 
Gospel and winning members. At first the Apostles and 
fellow workers were concerned with mission rather than 
with jurisdiction. It was later that parishes, dioceses, 
provinces, and patriarchates became the natural expres- 
sion of its visible growth. 

Then again the exigencies of development manifested 
themselves in different directions. Along with the need 
of written scriptures and a creed arose the necessity of 
ecclesiastical laws to regulate the ever-growing hierarchy. 
Closely following on the heels of these signs of growth 
came the development of doctrine and the writing of 
doctrinal .treatises. As in the Apostolic Commission were 
contained all the seeds of future hierarchy, so in the 
words of Christ and the teaching of the Apostles was found 
the source of the subsequent body of theology, made neces- 
sary by the environment of a philosophical heathen world. 

That attitude of protestantism, which rejects all de- 

66 



THE CLAIMS OF EOME 07 

velopment subsequent to the Apostolic age and would 
have us hark back to the crudities and bareness of the 
infant Church, is unreasonable, narrow, and short-sighted. 
To maintain that attitude is to fly in the face of history 
and experience. The record of the development of the 
Church along different lines must of course stand the 
scrutiny of intelligent scholarship, but it must also be 
borne in mind that the specialization of function, attend- 
ant upon healthy and natural growth, is not a sign of 
deterioration or error. Such richness and complexity 
of life are rather the logical outcome of necessary develop- 
ment in the Churches growth. 

On the other hand when the matter of the evolution 
of the Roman Church is under consideration, there arises 
very naturally the question how much of this develop- 
ment is legitimate. Does the Church of Rome to-day 
show any departure in the essentials of faith and practice 
from the Apostolic norm? Is there any dogma of the 
Papal Church at the present time which is not the natural 
fruition of some seed of Apostolic teaching ? Again with 
regard to jurisdiction, does the rule of the successors of 
Saint Peter present any undue enlargement or over-step- 
ping of the powers committed by our Lord to the Fisher- 
man ? 'No snap judgment will furnish a sufficient answer 
to these questions. A patient and fair examination of 
the history of the Church in its formative period will 
alone suffice. 

The claims of Rome must be considered from two 
stand-points. First, what has been the seK-realization of 
the Bishops of Rome respecting their Primacy in the 
Church of Christ? Has there been any change, apart 
from the growth due to logical development, in the posi- 
tion taken by modem Popes as compared with the con- 
ception of Saint Peter and his immediate successors, 
regarding their legitimate jurisdiction ? Second and 
closely connected with the first question in its historical 
relationship, how has the rest of the ChurQb regarded the 



68 UNITY AND ROME 

claims of the See of Rome to be the Mother and Mistress 
of all churches ? 

With respect to the first question, how have the Bishops 
of Rome acted regarding the responsibilities committed by 
our Lord, as understood by them, we have cited elsewhere 
in the present volume historical references and quota- 
tions from the Fathers. It would appear therefrom that 
beginning with the Epistle of Clement of Rome to the 
Church at Corinth there has been an unbroken realization 
of guidance and leadership on the part of the Apostolic 
See towards all the churches. At first this Primacy was 
gentle, fraternal, and conciliatory in its manifestations. 
We do find, however, throughout the ancient records an 
acknowledgment on the part of the Church at large that 
the Roman Church was the standard-bearer of Catholicity, 
and the test of orthodoxy for any church was to be found 
in its communion with Rome. 

When we come to the second part of that question, has 
there been any change in the attitude of modem Popes 
as compared with that of Saint Peter and his early suc- 
cessors, we enter the deeper waters surrounding the claims 
of the modern Papacy. At the outset of this whole matter 
one is confronted with the direct question, is the present 
imperialistic system of papal government a legitimate 
development of the powers delegated to Peter by the 
divine Head of the Church ? On the answer to this ques- 
tion, at least so far as her opponents are concerned, hangs 
the defense of the claims of Rome. In fairness to the 
Roman Church it should be stated that she does not 
pretend that the present elaborate and complex hierarchi- 
cal system existed in the Apostolic Age nor that it came 
all at once like a gift from heaven. A sentence from 
the Catholic Encyclopedia in the Article on Cardinals in- 
dicates the admitted Roman position, "As the papal head- 
ship of the Church manifested itself more and more, the 
Pope consulted the neighboring Bishops, seven in number, 
who became the Cardinal Bishops." 



THE CLAIMS OF EOME 69 

Originally every priest permanently attached to a 
church was designated cardinal. Later the senior priest 
of central or episcopal churches enjoyed this title, and 
in addition to being counselors of the Pope they were 
expected to unite with the Pope in special ecclesiastical 
functions. Late in the Middle Ages the title of Cardinal 
was applied to prominent priests of important churches, as 
Constantinople, Milan, Eavenna, Naples, etc. At Eome 
from the end of the fifth century the priests of the twenty- 
five urban churches enjoyed this title, and there were 
cardinal deacons for the seven regions of the city. The 
number of Cardinals varied until Pope Sixtus V in the 
Middle Ages fixed the number at seventy as at present — 
six Cardinal Bishops, fifty Cardinal Priests, and fourteen 
Cardinal Deacons. 

In 1059 N'icholas II placed the election of the Pope 
and the government of the Apostolic See during a vacancy 
largely in the hands of the Cardinals, and by Decretal 
of Alexander III in 1179 these matters passed exclusively 
to them. As the Popes gradually gave up visiting national 
churches, Cardinal Legates represented them on these vis- 
itations. In the late Middle Ages the Cardinals came 
to precede Bishops, Archbishops, and eventually Patri- 
archs. As ecclesiastical affairs increased with the growth 
of the Church and its spread over the world a large part 
of the College of Cardinals was required to reside in 
Rome in order that they might be at hand to perform the 
duties delegated to them by the Pope. 

The bestowal of the honorary title of Monsignor de- 
veloped in a similar way. Up to 1630, when Urban VIII 
reserved the title of Eminence to Cardinals, the latter 
in common with other prelates of high rank bore the 
title of Monsignor. In France the Cardinals are still 
addressed as Monseigneur. To-day there are no less than 
sixteen colleges or classes of Monsignori, ranging from 
the Very Reverend Papal Chamberlains to the Right 
Jleverend Prothonotaries Apostolic and Domestic Prelates 



70 TJNITY AND EOME 

who are privileged to wear like the Bishops the mantelletta 
and rochet. 

We have cited the cases of Cardinals and Monsignori 
to illustrate the gradual and late development of what 
might be called the florescence of the original Apostolic 
seed. When it is remembered that the seed of the Church 
was planted in the world, and its cultivation on the human 
side was in the hands of men, it is perhaps not to be 
wondered at that elaboration and complexity, attended by 
worldly pomp and grandeur, accompanied its growth. Nor 
should we too hastily condemn this fruition of jurisdic- 
tion, remembering that in heaven also there are angels 
and archangels, thrones and dominions, principalities and 
powers, and that Christ Himself promised to the Apostles 
that they should sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel. It would probably be admitted by Rome 
that honorary titles like those mentioned are not of the 
essence of the Church. Her claims to Primacy and Su- 
premacy would rest solely on the Apostolic Commission 
with special stress on the peculiar powers conferred on 
Peter by our Lord. 

Let us look at another side of the claims of Rome, 
"as the papal headship of the Church manifested itself 
more and more," namely, the right of the Pope in recent, 
or any, times to declare new dogmas as necessary articles 
of belief. The interest here very naturally centers upon 
three matters, the claim of Eome to be the source of 
Order and jurisdiction, the dogma of the Immaculate 
Conception of the Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, and the 
declaration of Papal Infallibility. We will consider the 
two points last named first. 

At the outset it should be remembered that the Roman 
Church has never presumed to declare a new doctrine, 
properly so-called. The Bishops of Rome are too wise 
and surrounded by too many competent counselors to 
commit such an egregious error. When the dogma of 
the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed by Pope Piua 



THE CLAIMS OF BOMB 71 

IX, it was explained in carefully chosen words that no 
new or strange doctrine was being proposed for the belief 
of the faithful. On the contrary the Papal Bull set forth 
very clearly that the Pope was only voicing in explicit 
terms a belief regarding the conception of the Mother of 
our Lord which had been always held implicitly by the 
Church. The reasons given for the promulgation of the 
dogma were the safe-guarding of the Incarnation of our 
Lord Jesus Christ and the necessity arising from the 
insidious attacks of modern infidelity. To those who 
love our Lord Jesus Christ and believe absolutely in 
His Godhead and Virgin Birth surely the thought that 
His Mother as the chosen vessel of the Incarnation was 
preserved from the stain of original sin cannot be re- 
pugnant. Whatever honors the Ever Virgin Mother only 
redounds to the glory of her Divine Son. It will not 
do for ignorant and prejudiced protestants to assert that 
Roman Catholics worship the Blessed Virgin Mary, even 
placing her above Christ. They venerate her as the Mother 
of our Lord and, therefore, the Queen of Saints, but 
they thoroughly well understand that she is a creature. 
If that article of the Creed, ^^I believe in the Communion 
of Saints,'^ means anything, it finds its highest expression 
in the filial trust which so many generations of Christians 
have manifested in the efficacy of the intercession of the 
Mother of our Lord. 

We are reminded, however, that our present purpose is 
first and foremost the consideration of Unity and the 
necessary conditions thereto. It is agreed that the Creed 
is a necessary symbol of the Christian Faith, and that 
it is a sufficient statement of what a Christian ought to 
know and believe. Advocates of Unity, therefore, may 
rest their cause upon the acceptance of the Creed. Its 
interpretation, however, cannot be left to individual judg- 
ment. The guidance of the Holy Ghost was promised to 
the Church in its corporate capacity. , 

Therefore, the matter of the Infallibility of the Pope 



72 UNITY AISTD ROME 

is a part of the general problem of credal interpretation. 
It should be said at once that there is wide-spread igno- 
rance and misunderstanding regarding the meaning of 
Papal Infallibility. It does not mean, for instance, the 
personal infallibility of the occupant of the Apostolic See. 
As an individual he can make mistakes, or even do wrong, 
the same as any human being. That he is less likely to 
do so, surrounded by the safe-guards of his sacred office, 
goes without saying. The Dogma regarding Infallibility 
says that the Pope is infallible when he speaks officially 
to the Church at large on a matter of Faith or Morals. 
Such a declaration will necessarily be a rare occurrence 
and only when some special need or crisis arises. If 
the Faith of the Church is endangered, if uncertainty 
among the faithful manifests itself, then the Pope ac- 
cording to this Dogma would be warranted in making an 
official pronouncement to combat the danger and to re- 
move the uncertainty. Even then he would not act in 
this capacity without due consultation with competent 
theologians, or except as the official mouth-piece of a 
Council. 

What is the sanction of Papal Infallibility? Upon 
what foundation of Holy Writ does it rest ? "When He, 
the Spirit of Truth, is come. He will guide you into all 
Truth." St. John XVI, 13. Again St. Paul says in 
his first Epistle to Timothy, 15th verse, "the Church 
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth." 
It is inconceivable that this guidance of the Holy Ghost 
should find utterance without an official interpreter. The 
Apostolic See has always held that its Primacy in the 
Church of Christ entitles it to be the channel of this 
guidance. The various and shifting opinions of individual 
men cannot be relied upon to perform this office with 
certitude. When the Hydra of manifold heresies, doubt, 
uncertainty, skepticism, atheism, and scientific criticism 
so-called, raises its blundering heads, there must be some 
one to safe-guard the Christian heritage of the Catholic 



THE CLAIMS OF EOME 73 

Faith. The Successor of Saint Peter, whoever he may 
be at the time, believes that he, in virtue of his position 
as the chief Bishop of the Church, is the rightful agent 
in the premises. This in brief is the meaning of Papal 
Infallibility, no more, no less. 

In the future when people generally by the mercy of 
God and the moving power of the Holy Ghost come to 
understand and value the meaning of Unity, we are em- 
boldened to hope that the claim of Rome to be the cham- 
pion of Catholicity (for that is what Papal Infallibility 
means in the last analysis), will no longer be regarded as 
a stumbling-block to that happy end. 

The claim of the Church of Rome to be the source 
of Order and Jurisdiction will be considered in the fol- 
lowing chapter. 



CHAPTEE XII 

ROME AND THE VALIDITY OF ORDERS 

THE position of the Roman Church regarding the 
validity of other ministries than her own may be 
summed up very briefly. Rome admits that the Orders 
of the Eastern Churches, generally speaking, are valid, 
and when the clergy of these Churches are received into 
communion they are not re-ordained, even conditionally. 
With respect to protestant ministries, which admittedly 
are not derived from bishops of Apostolic succession and 
which repudiate the idea of priesthood, Rome very nat- 
urally denies to them validity. 

Anglican Orders are placed by the Church of Rome 
in a special case. The historical and doctrinal conditions 
surrounding the first consecrations and ordinations in the 
reign of Elizabeth are considered in Roman eyes a fatal 
impediment, and Leo XIII in 1896 pronounced Anglican 
Orders invalid, or at least defective in the Catholic sense 
of priesthood. Accordingly when Anglican clergy submit 
to Rome, they are re-ordained without condition, pro- 
vided they are unmarried and there is no other impedi- 
ment. 

We have no desire to carry coals to Newcastle, or to 
thresh over a well-worn subject. Yet for the sake of this 
discussion on Unity and for the purpose of this particular 
chapter it is difficult to leave this matter untouched. 
What then were the circumstances surrounding the con- 
secration of Matthew Parker, the first Archbishop of Can- 
terbury after the death of Cardinal Pole, letting Rome 
tell the story? 

Upon the accession of Elizabeth, following the Roman 

74 



EOME AND THE VALIDITY OP OBDEES 75 

Catholic reign of Queen Mary, all the bishops of the 
Roman obedience refused to take part in the consecration 
of a new archbishop of Canterbury for the Church of 
England. There were, however, still living four bishops 
holding over from the Anglican regime of Edward VI. 
Of these, William Barlow, John Scory, and Miles Cover- 
dale had been deprived by Queen Mary, and one (John 
Hodgkins, consecrated suffragan Bishop of Thetford in 
1537) had consistently changed with every change of the 
times. These four consecrated Matthew Parker Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury by the Edwardine Ordinal on De- 
cember 17, 155 &, in the private chapel at Lambeth. Three 
days later, Parker, Barlow, Scory, and Hodgkins con- 
secrated four others in Bow Church. These were the 
ancestors (in the language of Rome) of the Anglican Epis- 
copate. 

In the Edwardine Ordinal the words accompanying the 
imposition of hands in the ordination of priests were "Re- 
ceive the Holy Ghost. Whose sins thou dost forgive, 
they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they 
are retained; and be thou a faithful dispenser of the 
Word of God and of His Holy Sacraments,^' and these 
other words, while the Bible was being delivered, "Take 
thou authority to preach the Word of God and to minister 
the Holy Sacraments in this congregation, where thou 
shalt be so appointed. '^ In the case of the episcopate 
the language was, "Take the Holy Ghost, and remember 
that thou stir up the grace of God, which is in thee 
by the imposition of hands, for God hath not given us 
the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of sober- 
ness^' ; and these other words, while the Bible was being 
delivered, "Give heed unto reading, exhortation, and doe- 
trine. Think upon these things contained in this book. 
... Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd not a wolf; 
feed them, devour them not; hold up the weak, heal 
the sick, bind together the broken, bring again the outcast, 
seek the lost. . . .'' 



76 trisriTY and home 

The additions in 1662 were, in the case of the priest- 
hood (after the words ^^Receive the Holy Ghost"), ^^for 
the office and work of a priest in the Church of God now 
committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands"; 
and in the case of the episcopate (after the words "Take 
the Holy Ghost"), "for the office and work of a bishop 
in the Church of God now committed unto thee by the 
imposition of our hands." 

Rome holds that the omission in the Edwardine Ordi- 
nal of language specifying priesthood and episcopate are 
fatal to Anglican claims of Orders in the Catholic sense. 
She admits that the additions made to the Ordinal in 
1662 are in the right direction, but insists that Anglican 
Orders depend upon their source — the defective Ed- 
wardine Ordinal. Pope Leo further called attention to 
the fact that the reformers on the continent repudiated 
the priesthood as unscriptural, and that these same re- 
formers in the person of the German Bucer and others 
largely influenced Cranmer in compiling the Prayer Books 
of 1549 and 1552, which accounts for the omissions 
above referred to. Leo also called attention to the fact 
that The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England 
reduce the number of Sacraments from seven to two and 
reject the Sacrifice of the Mass. So much for Roman 
objections. 

What have Anglicans to say in rebuttal? That they 
recognized the defects of the Edwardine Ordinal is clearly 
shown by the additions of 1662. On the other hand de- 
fenders of Anglican Orders stoutly claim that the language 
of the Edwardine Ordinal as a whole shows that the inten- 
tion of its framers was to retain Holy Orders in the 
Catholic and Apostolic sense. Furthermore the wording 
of the Prayer Book as a whole indicates the general 
intention of the Church of England to remain Catholic. 
The language of the Communion Service plainly predi- 
cates the Holy Sacrifice and the Real Presence, while the 
Preface to the Prayer Book states in no uncertain terms 



EOME AND THE VALIDITY OF ORDERS 77 

the belief of the Church that from the times of the 
Apostles there have always existed the three Orders of 
the Ministry, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. 

It is conceded by increasing numbers of Anglicans that 
Cranmer and his associates did much harm by their 
tampering with the Mass and by their introduction of 
the Services of Morning and Evening Prayer to take the 
place of the one Service instituted by Christ, commonly 
called the Mass. This mistake, however, is gradually 
being righted. The English reformers may have ren- 
dered uncertain in some aspects the Catholic faith and 
practice of the Anglican Communion, but their marring 
of the Catholic heritage did not destroy the core of that 
faith once for all delivered to the saints. 

Putting aside for the moment the scriptural grounds 
for what is commonly known as the Petrine Privileges, 
let us examine from another standpoint the causes lead- 
ing to Rome's claim to pronounce upon the validity of 
the Orders and the Catholicity of all other Churches. 
Closely connected with this claim to interfere and ad- 
judicate in the affairs of other Churches has been what 
Roman theologians term "the right of intervention'^ in 
the temporal realm, that is, acting as arbiter in disputes 
between kings, settling the succession to the crown, claim- 
ing as of divine right the privilege of anointing kings. 
This preeminence in secular affairs has had a reflex 
action in matters ecclesiastical, and vice versa. It is well, 
therefore, to trace the rise of this phase of the temporal 
power of the Popes. 

Before the conversion of Constantino the Church had 
no recognized official position in the eyes of the world, 
and consequently its activities were confined to evangeli- 
zation. When Constantino, the first Christian Emperor, 
gave official recognition to Christianity, the Church en- 
tered upon a new phase of its career. It was not only 
that parishes, dioceses, provinces, and patriarchates took 
systematic form and hierarchical relations assumed a 



78 TJNITY AND KOME 

greater regularity, but the Church itself began to look 
more deeply into the mutual relations existing between 
the spiritual and secular heads. It was Constantino who 
declared that God had committed worldly rule to the 
Emperor and the rule in the spiritual realm to the 
priests. This was the beginning, and as the Empire broke 
up and the Kingdoms of Europe took its place, the 
Papacy very gradually through a considerable period 
of time found itself in a position respecting civil affairs 
little dreamed of by the early Popes. From the quite 
legitimate position of arbiter between crowned heads when 
asked to act by both parties to the dispute, the Church 
in the person of certain forceful and over-ambitious Popes 
came to assume the universally imperial attitude of being 
above all Kings, and as a consequence under some cir- 
cumstances claimed the right to set up and depose worldly 
rulers. 

It must be remembered, also, in this connection that 
the acquisition of "the papal patrimony," as the Papal 
States in Italy were commonly called, had its influence in 
the assumption of temporal power by the Papacy. Being 
a Temporal Prince himself, it was but a step, although 
admittedly a very long one, for the Pope to proclaim 
himself above all other Princes. 'Now all this was not 
of divine right, and therefore not of the essence of the 
Church nor of the Primacy of Peter. This is acknowl- 
edged by Roman writers of repute, including the com- 
pilers of the Catholic Encyclopedia. We quote a passage 
from the last-named work bearing on this point. 

"And because it (the Church) had gone back to the 
older, simpler, more spiritual theories of Gelasius I (492- 
96), Gregory I (590-604), and Innocent III (1179-80), 
it has now opportunities which were denied it, so long 
as it claimed the more showy rights of Gregorv VII 
(1073-85), Boniface VIII (1294-1303), and John XXII 
(1316-34)." 

So much for the assumptions of Temporal Power by 



EOME AND THE VALIDITY OF ORDERS 79 

the Papacy. Let us now turn once more to the eccle- 
siastical ground-work of Eome's claim to pronounce judg- 
ment upon other Churches. To quote the Catholic En- 
cyclopedia again, ^Tfeter's power was not challenged by 
any writer until the rise of the sixteenth-century here- 
sies.^' In historical order let us make a brief survey of 
the evidence in support of Rome's claim that the Apostolic 
See has always possessed the power of Peter and that the 
Successors of the Fisherman at the present day do still 
possess the Petrine Privileges. 

We pass over as settled the presence of Saint Peter in 
Rome and his martyrdom there. Hamach, the eminent 
protestant theologian, admits that no historical fact is 
better substantiated. liVe have to deal, therefore, with 
Rome's claim that the successors of Peter have exercised, 
and as of right, the powers of the Prince of the Apostles. 

Let us begin with the middle of the third century and 
work backward. St. Cyprian about the year 250 expressly 
terms the Roman See the Chair of St. Peter, saying that 
Cornelius has succeeded to ^'the place of Fabian which 
is the place of Peter." Epis. LV, 8. In the first quarter 
of this century (220) TertuUian mentions the claim of 
Callistus that Peter's power to forgive sins had descended 
in a special manner to him. Hippolytus about the same 
period reckons Peter in the list of Roman bishops. There 
is a passage in the anonymous poem "Adversus Marci- 
onem" of this time, in which Peter is said to have passed 
on to Linus ^^the chair on which he himself had sat." 

In the second century we cannot look for much evi- 
dence. All the writers, with the exception of Ignatius, 
Polycarp, and Clement of Alexandria, were apologists 
against Jews or pagans, and had no occasion to speak of 
Peter's Roman episcopate. Irenseus, however, who was in 
Rome in 177, speaks of Hyginus as ninth Bishop of 
Rome, making Peter the first. Ignatius (110) in tho 
introduction of his Epistle to the Romans speaks of their 
bishop as "presiding over love." Polycarp, whose pupil 



80 UNITY AND EOME 

Ignatius was, himseK was a hearer of Saint John, the 
beloved disciple. The link was so close between Ignatius 
and the Apostles, and the time so short, that his evidence 
can scarcely be overrated. 

As to the actual exercise of the powers of Peter by 
his early successors there are three significant instances. 
First, as has been noted elsewhere, the Epistle of Clement 
of Rome in the first century, addressed to the Church at 
Corinth. In St. Victor, Pope from 189-198, we have 
the most explicit assertion of the supremacy of the Roman 
See in regard to other Churches. In the Paschal dispute 
regarding the time when Easter should be celebrated Vic- 
tor excommunicated the Eastern Churches for not follow- 
ing the Roman usage, but later at the urgent plea of 
Irenseus withdrew the excommunication. Tertullian's sar- 
castic utterance about this time, after he had gone over 
to the Montanist heresy, "the supreme pontiff, the bishop 
of bishops,^^ is another bit of testimony in the same direc- 
tion. Pope Victor also excommunicated Theodotus, Bishop 
of Constantinople, on account of his heretical doctrine re- 
garding the person of Christ. 

Dionysius, pope from 250 to 268, at the request and 
protest of the clergy and faithful of Alexandria, de- 
manded from the Bishop of Alexandria explanations touch- 
ing his doctrine, although Alexandria was at this time 
reckoned the second See in Christendom in point of dig- 
nity. On another occasion this same Dionysius of Alex- 
andria appealed to his namesake at Rome, as having the 
right to speak with authority on matters of doctrine. 
When the Faith was threatened, or the vital welfare of 
souls demanded action, then Rome intervened, as did 
St. Dionysius, St. Stephen, St. Callistus, St. Victor, and 
St. Clement. Bearing these instances in mind, it can 
scarcely be said with fairness that the Roman Primacy had 
its origin in papal ambition, nor do the facts of history 
warrant the statement of protestant critics that the papal 
claims were unknown in the early centuries of the Church. 



CHAPTER XIII 

DENOMIl^ATIONAIi CHEISTIANITY 

PEOTESTANT Christianity in its origins is man- 
made. The stream cannot rise higher than its source. 
In the case of the Sectarian bodies the source, or to be 
more accurate, the sources, are a group of individuals in 
the sixteenth century — fifteen hundred years after Christ 
founded the Church upon the Apostles. These self -consti- 
tuted leaders committed two very serious breaches against 
Apostolic Faith and Order. In breakiag the Unity of the 
Church, these innovators, on the one hand, denied the 
authority of the Church in its corporate capacity to gov- 
ern its members, and, on the other hand, they claimed 
to have received, or to be in possession of, a knowledge 
of the Christian religion superior to that under which 
their fathers had lived. Let us consider in turn these 
breaches with the Past. 

We have referred above to the reformers as a group 
of individuals, but they were not a group in the ordinary 
sense. Scarcely had the right of individual judgment been 
asserted by the arch-reformer Luther in Germany than 
other individuals elsewhere claimed like privileges of 
interpretation and leadership. If Luther's premise was 
right, it was logical and consistent for others to exercise 
the ne^Y power. The principle of individualistic inter- 
pretation, once admitted, is far reaching. It becomes imi- 
versal. It cannot be limited to the original recipients 
of "the new learning." The result is obvious, and is seen 
in sectarian rivalries with their various forms of Denomi- 
national organization, each alleging paramount authority. 
The reformers, therefore, did not constitute a coherent 

81 



82 UNITY AND EOME 

group. With fatal rapidity they resolved themselves into 
different groups, each exploiting the idiosyncrasies and 
vagaries of some self-opinionated leader. The process, 
unfortunately, did not confine itself to the Reformation 
Era. It continued, and is still going on, with conse- 
quences only too evident to the world at large. We pass 
over, for the time being, the loss in Christian charity 
and practical efficiency. We are dealing just now with 
the lawfulness, or the reverse, of Reformation changes. 

The history, as well as the tradition, of the Holy 
Catholic Church (belief in which is professed by all who 
recite the Apostles' Creed, not to speak of the more 
explicit Nicene Creed) is no uncertain quantity. The 
Church throughout the world was under bishops, whose 
consecration was in unbroken succession from Apostolic 
days. No one thought of taking upon himself the sacred 
ministry without being lawfully ordained thereto by a 
bishop in communion with the Catholic Church. The 
validity and regularity of Holy Orders were always con- 
sidered from the earliest times essential to the exercise 
of the ministerial office. The testimony of the Fathers 
and Councils with the accompanying Canons of the latter 
admits of no question. It is unanimous and invariable. 
The action, therefore, of Luther and the other Reformers 
undoubtedly constituted a usurpation of authority and a 
break with the practice of the Church. 

The sanction of the Holy Catholic Church lies in its 
divine origin. Its power is from above. The Apostles 
were called, appointed, and received delegated power from 
our Lord Jesus Christ, which power was made fully 
operative by the reception of the Holy Ghost. It was to 
the Church, so constituted and sanctioned, that the prom- 
ise was made by our Lord that it should be guided into 
all truth, and that the gates of hell should not prevail 
against it. The Reformers were self-constituted, and their 
call does not rise above self-assertion. 

In the Catholic Church the authority of sacred function 



DENOMUsTATIONAL CHRISTIANITY 83 

consists in a delegation of power — very properly called 
the grace of Orders — from the line and source ordained 
by Christ, and endued with plenitude of ministerial 
authority by the gift of the Spirit of Truth. The Denom- 
inations and Sects came fifteen hundred years too late 
to receive a like sanction. With them the source of min- 
isterial authority is two-fold, but it is human in both in- 
stances. The individual trusts that he is called to min- 
ister, and the source of authority is from the congrega- 
tion which chooses one from among themselves to act 
for them in matters of public worship. Again we say 
that the stream cannot rise higher than its source, and 
here the source is from the congregation. We are not 
dealing now with sincerity of motives, nor seeking to 
impugn in the least degree the good-will of Sectarian 
ministers nor of their congregations. Under God they 
have shown admirable zeal, and Protestantism has accom- 
plished much in the general cause of Christianity. We 
are concerned now with the lawfulness of authoritv in the 
Church. We are seeking to place clearly in evidence 
the origins and sanctions of the powers delegated by the 
Divine Head of the Church, as contrasted with the as- 
sumptions and self-assertions of the Eeformation period. 
When we come to consider the second breach with the 
Past committed by the Reformation leaders^ — namely, 
their claim to have received, or to have revived, a purer 
and more Apostolic form of Christianity, we are face to 
face with the fundamental trouble arising from the Refor- 
mation. jN'o one would be so foolish as to deny that 
Christian men have a right to know the truth about 
Apostolic Christianity. Undoubtedly Christians generally 
are within their rights in wishing to know at its source, 
before the stream became discolored by any unwarranted 
additions, what the Apostles and their immediate suc- 
cessors believed and taught. Where think you, our good 
protestant brethren, shall we learn about these things ? 
Unquestionably in the writings of the Apostolic age, as 



84 UMTT AISTD ROME 

interpreted by the early Fathers of the Church. There 
is no other way. Unless these Christian worthies under- 
stood what was handed down to them by the Apostles, 
the whole course of the Church in the early centuries 
is uncertain and misleading. There is no greater weight 
of evidence for the truth of Apostolic tradition than the 
writings of the Fathers. If they who lived nearest the 
origin of the Church did not know, we all are at sea, and 
the case may as well be given up as hopeless. But hap- 
pily for the validity of Christian evidences, the historical 
value of those early Christian documents cannot be set 
aside. They constitute the evidence in the case. 

All thp testimony of Christian antiquity points one 
way. The history of the Church in its formative period, 
as portrayed by Eusebius writing early in the fourth cen- 
tury and blazing the way for future historians in this 
field, presents an unmistakable picture of Catholic faith 
and practice. Through the web of patristic literature 
runs the deep, rich thread of Apostolic tradition — never 
lost, never changed nor abandoned, always received 
wherever the Catholic Church extended its divine life. 
Heresy in those early days, even as now, raised its un- 
believing, disintegrating, rebellious standards, but because 
they were not founded on the Eock of Truth they passed 
away, and the Holy Catholic Church went on, pursuing 
its Christ-given mission of saving souls and uniting them 
in One Flock under One Shepherd. Heresy disintegrates, 
becomes kaleidoscopic, shifts, withers, and finally dies, be- 
cause it severs itself from the life of the Catholic Church. 
There are no promises of Christ to heresy. He reserved 
these for His Church. 

But what of the abuses and corruptions of the medieval 
Church, the descendants of the Reformers ask at this 
point? Granted that the purity of the Faith had been 
sullied, that simplicity of Apostolic discipline had suf- 
fered invasions of worldly elements, nevertheless such 
a condition does not warrant pulling down the house 



DENOMINATIONAL CHRISTIANITY 85 

on our heads. Eeformation, if it be true and proceeding 
from charity, does not seek to destroy the thing that gave 
it life. Reformation proceeds from within. The branches, 
severed from the trunk, although they may not wither 
and die, although by the merciful providence of God they 
are suffered to take root where they fell, are no longer 
part of the parent tree. They do not bring forth fruit 
to perfection. 

Let us go a step further and admit the Reformation 
was salutary in its effects. That admission, however, 
does not warrant the continuance of strife. The Reforma- 
tion has not abrogated the law of charity. This applies 
to protestant and catholic alike. Have we not come to a 
time, brethren, when the rule of Christ should resume its 
sway throughout the world? Cannot adherents of the 
Reformation, on the one side, rest from their labors re- 
garding their needed work as finished, and on the other 
side is not the time ripe for the great Catholic Church 
to show in the spirit of Jesus Christ an attitude of con- 
ciliation towards its separated brethren? The day seems 
to be at hand, for the first time perhaps since the Reforma- 
tion, when an attitude of mutual approach is taking shape 
in the minds and hearts of men. Let us remember, how- 
ever, that all efforts towards Unity will fail unless they 
are grounded in sincerity. IsTothing that savors of a 
strengthening of one element of Christianity against an- 
other by the coalescence of certain similar types is going 
to make Unity. It may reduce the present shameful list 
of Sects and Denominations, but the result will not exceed 
that measure. 

If this volume has the good fortune to be read by 
Denominational Christians (and it is the earnest hope of 
the author that such will be the case), the chapters on 
the Testimony of the Fathers are commended to their 
attention for an open-minded reading. In particular the 
passages quoted from Clement of Rome, Ignatius of An- 
tioch, Irenasus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Ori- 



86 UNITY AND ROME 

gen, Cyprian, Augustine, Chrysostom, Athanasius, Am- 
brose of Milan, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, and 
Jerome exhibit a chain of evidence covering the early 
centuries and extending practically over the Christian 
world of that day. To those who have inherited their 
religious and ecclesiastical predilections, and who have 
received on hearsay their impressions of our Catholic 
heritage, this cloud of witnesses from the Past will come 
as a revelation. To faith it will add knowledge. 



i 



CHAPTEE XIV 

AI^GLICANISM IN THE FUTURE 

T3E0PHECY5 unless divinely inspired, is a rash and 
A fruitless undertaking. There is, however, a region 
of probabilities, based upon experience and past per- 
formance, into which one may venture without incurring 
the charge of an unwarranted attempt to read the future. 
In the case of the Anglican Communion, including of 
course the Episcopal Church in the United States, this 
region of probabilities includes a historic back-ground, 
national characteristics, and present conditions. 

It does not seem likely, therefore, humanly speaking 
that the Anglican Church will ever surrender — in the 
Unity for which many are praying — ^the language under- 
standed of the people. The beauty, dignity, and sim- 
plicity of the English Eite have so much excellence in 
themselves, have become so endeared to English-speaking 
Christians, that it would appear to be beyond the range 
of probability that it will ever be given up. Fortunately, 
however, there is nothing absolutely essential in any one 
language as regards the Unity of the Church. Eome 
has admitted this in the case of the Greek Uniat Church, 
which was allowed to retain its native Liturgy when that 
body was received into communion with the Eoman 
Church. 

Upon the basis that there can be no true Unity without 
Eome, what, as far as the Anglican Communion is con- 
cerned, is the one essential for a re-united Church ? Un- 
doubtedly the acknowledgment in some form, to be de- 
termined in the future, of the Apostolic See. The valid- 
ity of Anglican Orders, the correctness of Anglican doc- 

87 



88 UNITY AND ROME 

trine, and the Catholic character of the present Anglican 
Liturgy, will in all probability be found to be capable 
of adjustment. There is no insurmountable bar to Unity 
in these matters. The Lambeth Conference proposal to 
submit to re-ordination, if that is necessary to bring 
about Unity, paves the way to curing any defect which 
may be thought to exist in the Orders of the Anglican 
Church. The Creeds — Apostles' and Nicene — already 
professed by Anglicans are bases of Catholic agreement. 
With respect to the present Anglican Liturgy, there has 
already been considerable discussion, under the head of 
Prayer Book Revision, of certain restorations and changes 
of order with the intention of bringing the English Rite 
into closer conformity with Catholic Liturgies through- 
out the world. 

There is another matter — quite aside the domain of 
theology — ^which is bound to play a very considerable 
part in the attitude of Anglicans towards any re-union 
with Rome. The spirit of the Age in which we live — 
the result of a gradual process of evolution in the world's 
social fabric — is one of freedom and democracy. This 
is particularly true of Anglo-Saxon peoples, who form 
the bulk of the Anglican Communion. Theologians and 
ecclesiastics cannot brush this aside. It must be reckoned 
with. In the eyes of many it is a part of "the liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made us free." Ultramontane 
and imperialistic Roman Catholic ecclesiastics will be 
obliged in all probability to re-adjust their medieval out- 
look in these respects. After all there is nothing divinely 
revealed which makes it necessary or essential for a group 
of Italian ecclesiastics to keep the government of the 
Church in their own hands. Indeed, the genius of Chris- 
tianity and the general tendency of human aspirations 
are away from imperialism and very much towards en- 
lightened democracy. With all respect for the Italians, 
as a people, there is nothing in them nor in the Christian 
religion, which singles them out as the exclusive rulers 



ANGLICANISM IN THE FUTURE 89 

of the Cliiircli. On the contrary the very nature of 
Christianity — designed for the healing of the nations — 
points towards a representative government of the Cath- 
olic Church in which all the peoples of the earth shall 
have a voice. But we shall have more to say on this 
aspect of the question in the next chapter. 

In Anglicanism itself there are internal adjustments 
going on which seem to promise standards of faith and 
practice quite different from what was Protestant Epis- 
copalianism a century ago. In the slowly boiling caldron 
of Anglican restoration towards historic catholicity, a 
noticeable part of Reformation negations has risen to the 
surface and has been ladled off, leaving a less alloyed 
catholic substance behind. It is reasonable to expect that 
this process will continue in the future until Anglicanism 
presents to the world a catholicity, which not only satisfies 
itself, but will be recognized as catholic by those outside 
its fold. If this happily does come to pass, Unity with 
the Holy Catholic Church throughout all the world will 
be at hand. 

Of course there is another possibility, which one dis- 
likes to think of, that of ossified protestantism which sets 
its face immovably against all that it is fond of calling 
*^Romanizing tendencies.'' Just how much the protestant 
element is going to influence the future of Anglicanism, 
one cannot say. If, however, as has been quoted in a 
preceding chapter, the Anglican Communion in the future 
is going to become increasingly less Anglican, and more 
Catholic, we may be sure that its place will be found 
eventually where its catholic character will no longer 
admit of question in any quarter — a consummation, by 
the way, devoutly to be wished for. 

We, who love the Church of our birth, whose Orders we 
bear, who feel intensely that this English-speaking Church 
has given, and has yet much to give to the great House- 
hold of Faith, we want to see this Church of ours emerge 
from a condition of ambiguity, and take its rightful place 



90 UNITY AND ROME 

as a clearly and universally recognized Branch of the 
Catholic Church. The branch, however, my brethren, hath 
no life in itself apart from the trunk of the tree. 

^Teace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; 
not as the world giveth, give I unto you," said the 
Divine Founder of Christianity. Therefore, let us have 
peace, and with it that other thing Christ prayed for — 
Unity. 



CHAPTEK XV 



Rome's opportunity 



THE future of Unity is in the hands of God, but 
Eome has a golden opportunity. The pronounce- 
ment of Pope Leo XIII in 1896 on the validity of An- 
glican Orders is not necessarily considered to have been 
ex cathedra, nor the inflexible attitude then shown by 
the Pope regarded as the permanent point of view neces- 
sarily of succeeding Bishops of Rome. It is quite pos- 
sible that a Pope of wider vision and more embracing 
charity, less trammeled by the shackles of old conserva- 
tism, more open to the modem spirit, may show a more 
conciliatory attitude towards Anglicans and the other 
brethren who have broken away from the Unity of the 
Church. We do not mean by this that Eome will ever 
sacrifice any essentials of the Faith. She cannot do that 
and remain faithful to her charge. A more paternal atti- 
tude, however, towards Christians of every name on the 
part of the Pope will probably do more to heal the 
wounds sustained in the sixteenth century conflict than 
the unbending, ultramontane position hitherto maintained 
by the Papacy. 

Our Lord's Prayer, ^Tather, I pray that they may be 
one, even as we are one,'' is believed by Catholics to mean 
an outward and visible Unity of the Church. If this is 
so, then every one from the Pope down should cooperate 
in fulfilling the will of Christ. That the breach has 
remained open so long is largely due to opinions and 
feelings, which Christian charity could change into mutual 
love and forbearance. The old antagonisms have shown 
their futility, and have made the antagonists on both 

91 



92 UNITY AND EOME 

sides less Christian and consequently less pleasing to Al- 
mighty God. Let the Holy Ghost do its work ! Let Chris- 
tian charity prevail ! Oh, for a Pope tender enough in his 
regard for all souls, broad enough in his sympathy and 
outlook, to stand on the threshold of St. Peter's and hold 
out his hands to the world! 

The temporal possessions of the Pope have passed away 
and the Church is better for the loss, more spiritual, 
more Apostolic. That was one step in the right direction. 
Now let ^^the prisoner of the Vatican" come forth from 
his voluntary retirement, and take his rightful place 
among men. As chief Bishop of the Church of Christ 
(for he is that and no one can take it away from him), 
let him stand out in the open as the Apostle of love. 
The next step will be Unity. It may be a long step 
and a slow one, but the Primate of the Holy Catholic 
Church should lead the way. 

In the preliminary Geneva Conference on Unity the 
Pope refused to take a part or allow himself to be rep- 
resented in any way. This attitude is unnecessary, and 
with all deference to Benedict XV, the great peace Pope 
of happy memory, we believe it was a mistake. There 
is no reason why Peter's successor should feel timidity. 
He does not run the risk of compromising the Catholic 
Church by meeting Christians of other names in free 
and open conference. Surely the Pope does not desire to 
be either neutral or luke-warm in the cause of Unity. 
The old ultramontane policy of exclusiveness savored not 
of the things that be of God, but of the things that be of 
men. The wonderful opportunity that has come about, 
under the good providence of God, as manifested by 
the great desire for Unity in many quarters, must be 
a source of much thanksgiving to the Pope. In the nearly 
four hundred years since the Unity was broken in the 
West nothing like the present movement has been seen. 
The opportunity for positive leadership is unparalleled, 
and the Pope by reason of his exalted position in the 



EOME^S OPPORTUNITY 98 

Church is unquestionably the natural leader in the move- 
ment. 

The loss of the temporal possessions of the Church was 
after all but the first step towards a new and spiritual 
Papacy. The next was the abrogation of the right of 
veto in papal elections on the part of Austria and Spain. 
No earthly power has the right to interfere with the 
free election of the Church's chief Bishop. Christ or- 
dained that the choice was to be made under the guidance 
of the Holy Ghost. Ecclesiastical politics has no place 
in the spiritual realm, and the sooner the Roman Curia 
understands this, the better. A broad-visioned and Christ- 
like Pope can render an inestimable service to the Church 
by banishing once for all worldly expediency from the 
councils of the Church. Worldly wisdom in the affairs 
of Holy Church reaped its fruit in the losses of the 
Reformation. Now let us see what the example of our 
Lord Jesus Christ can do. 

In the election of Pius XI, the Church appears to be 
about to take two more steps in the right direction. 
There is hope that the present Pope will not remain 
"the prisoner of the Vatican/' but will come out of his 
unnecessary retirement and mingle among men in peace 
and love as, indeed, a true Holy Father ought to do. 
The change in the papal constitution, delaying the Con- 
clave for the election of a new Pope, until the Car- 
dinals from America and other distant points can be 
present, is another step in the right direction. The day 
of "Star Chamber'' methods is over. We live in the 
age of "the open door." Let the ultramontanes reflect 
upon this, and recognize that medieval procedure is gone 
forever. 

The world-wide expression of sorrow over the death 
of Benedict XV, and the testimonies of respect and ap- 
preciation from those outside the Roman Church, must 
have surprised Catholic and Protestant alike. These 
things are signs of a very significant attitude among the 



94 XJITITY AND EOME 

peoples of the earth. When the Pope shows himself by 
word and deed that he is strengthening his brethren, even 
as Christ enjoined upon Peter, then men of every name 
in love and reverence honor the successor of the Fisherman. 

As we come to the end of this part of the present 
volume, we cannot but repeat the two dominant thoughts 
which have been in the mind of the writer throughout. 
The first is that there can be no true Unity without 
Rome. That fact should be clearly recognized by the 
leaders of the present movement, whether Anglican, East- 
ern, or Sectarian. Without Rome, efforts towards Unity 
will be in vain, and for the very simple and obvious reason 
that the Bishop of Rome is the Primate of the whole 
Church (not simply the Patriarch of the Western Church 
as some assert, but the Shepherd of the entire Flock of 
Christ). The second dominant thought in the author's 
mind in this connection is the necessity of bringing Rome 
actively into the discussion of Unity. Nay, we will go 
further. In that discussion Rome must take the first 
place, because it is hers of divine right. 

The Church has been described as the Bride of Christ. 
She should be arrayed in garments worthy of her heavenly 
Bridegroom. The King would have her all-glorious 
within. There should be no spot or wrinkle or any such 
thing. She should be clothed in Unity, h^r bridal robe 
unrent. The sheen of her veil should be peace and love. 
The virgins that be her fellows should bear her company. 
Like a sweet-smelling savor she should come into the 
King's presence. All her garments should smell of myrrh 
and cassia out of the ivory palaces. 

She would be all this, my brethren, if it were not for 
the pride and prejudices, strifes and contentions of men. 



i 

I 



PAET II 
THE TESTIMOl^Y OF THE FATHEKS 

(ANTE-E-ICENE) 



i 






CHAPTER I 

CLEMENT OF EOME TO IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 

THE American editor of the Ante-lSTiceiie Fathers, 
Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe, in his Introductory 
Notice to the volume of Apostolic Fathers, refers feel- 
ingly to the words of St. Peter, ^^I will endeavor that 
ye may be able after my decease to have these things al- 
ways in remembrance/' In answer to the question, was 
the endeavor of the chief of the Apostles successfully 
carried out, the Church gratefully points to the writings 
of the men who lived in the age immediately following. 
Our present purpose is to cull from these precious 
flowers of Christian antiquity their testimony relating 
to the Unity of the Church — not only the exact language 
of the writers upon this point, but the general bearing 
of the writings, as indicated by the circumstances under 
which the authors wrote. 

CLEMENT OF EOME 

First in order of time among the Apostolic Fathers 
stands St. Clemens Romanus, believed to be the friend 
and fellow-worker of St. Paul, and later the fourth 
bishop of Rome, following St. Peter, Linus, and Anacletus. 
In his first Epistle to the Corinthians, to which the date 
of 97 A.D. has been assigned, the salutation, ^^The Church 
of God which sojourns at Rome, to the Church of God 
sojourning at Corinth,'^ calls to mind the humility and 
meekness of St. Peter. 

The opening paragraph of the Epistle is as follows: 
^^Owing, dear brethren, to the sudden and successive 
calamitous events which have happened to ourselves, we 

97 



98 UNITY AI^D ROME 

feel that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our 
attention to the points respecting which you consulted us." 
It is to be notedj therefore, that the letter of Clement 
was not in any sense gratuitous or intrusive. Even at 
that early day in the history of the Church the distracted 
Christians at Corinth turned naturally to the Apostolic 
See for guidance and help. 

In chapter XLIV of the Epistle, referring directly to 
the action of the seditious and arrogant group of Corin- 
thians who sought to usurp the places of their lawfully 
appointed ministers, Clement uses this language: "Our 
Apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
there would be strife on account of the office of the epis- 
copate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they 
had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they ap- 
pointed those (ministers) already mentioned, and after- 
wards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, 
other approved men should succeed them in the ministry. 
We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, 
or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of 
the whole Church, and who have blamelessly served the 
flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested 
spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion 
of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry." 

Could there be anything stronger for Unity and Apos- 
tolic Order than those words, "with the consent of the 
whole Church" ? 

Again in chapter XL VI Unity is referred to in these 
words : "Why are there strifes, and tumults, and divisions, 
and schisms, and wars among you? Have not all one 
God and one Christ ? Is there not one Spirit of grace 
poured out upon us? And have we not one calling in 
Christ ? Why do we divide and tear to pieces the mem- 
bers of Christ, and raise up strife against our own body, 
and have reached such a height of madness as to forget 
that Ve are members^ one of another' ?" 

What a commentary upon the divided Christianity of 



CLEMENT OF KOME TO IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 99 

to-day is to be found in these expressions of Clement! 
Happily the Corinthians came to their senses, and peace 
and order were restored. 

The saintly bishop of Rome did more than write to 
the Church at Corinth. He sent his messengers, or 
legates, who should report to him in person regarding 
conditions there, as is evidenced by the concluding para- 
graph of the Epistle. "Send back speedily to us in peace 
and with joy these our messengers to you: Claudius 
Ephebus and Valerius Bito, with Fortunatus: that they 
may the sooner announce to us the peace and harmony 
we so earnestly desire and long for (among you), and 
that we may the more quickly rejoice over the good order 
reestablished among you,'^ etc. 

What would be the plain interpretation of this Epistle 
of Clement of Rome, if the exigencies of Protestant Chris- 
tians to bolster up their doctrinal positions did not color 
their opinions? Reading these passages from Clement 
with charity and justice, their witness for the Unity of 
the Holy Catholic Church and the paternal solicitude of 
the successor of St. Peter for all the Churches, given and 
accorded, seems very clear. The Epistle displays an 
admirable knowledge of the sacred scriptures, and its truly 
Apostolic tone explains how it came to be read in the 
public services of the Church for we know not how many 
years. The only manuscript extant of the Eirst Epistle 
of Clement is contained in the Alexandrian manuscript 
(Codex A) presented by Cyril, Patriarch of Constanti- 
nople, in 1628 to Charles I., and is now preserved in the 
British Museum. It is bound up with the New Testament 
books, and coming directly after them was an evidence of 
the high esteem in which the Epistle was held. 

EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS 

There is nothing in the anonymous Jlpistle to Diog- 
netus, circa 130, referring to our present subject. It 



100 tJNITY AND EOMB 

would be very pleasing to adduce some testimony from 
what is regarded as the most elegant bit of writing among 
the Greek Fathers. 



POLYCARP OF SMYRNA 

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, dated 
about 150 or earlier, breathes the spirit of Unity from 
its salutation, ^Tolycarp, and the presbyters with him, 
to the Church of God sojourning at Philippi/' to its con- 
cluding words, ^^Grace be with you all. Amen.'' The 
saintly bishop of Smyrna, martyr, pupil of St. John, 
and teacher of Irenseus, writes in the third chapter of 
his Epistle, as follows : ^^These things, brethren, I write to 
you concerning righteousness, not because I take anything 
upon myself, but because ye have invited me to do so. 
For neither I, nor any other such one, can come up to 
the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul. He, when 
among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word of 
truth in the presence of those who were then alive." 

This intercourse between Philippi and Smyrna tells 
its own tale of Catholic Unity. In the body of the same 
Letter (chap. IX) Polycarp refers to the solidarity of 
the Church in these words, "I exhort you all, therefore, 
to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to 
exercise all patience, such as ye have seen (set) before 
your eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, 
and Zosimus, and Eufus, but also in others among your- 
selves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the Apostles." 
The spiritual experiences, the martyrdoms, of all the 
saints from the Apostles down are the common heritage 
of the whole Church. There is no holding back, no grudg- 
ing attitude, towards the glorious examples of the saints 
by this, or that, section of the Church. 



CLEMENT OF KOME TO IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 101 
MARTYRDOM OF POLYCAEP 

Just after the noble martyrdom of Polycarp there was 
written^ ^The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna, 
Concerning the Martyrdom of the Holy Polycarp." What 
a ring of Catholic Unity sounds in its opening paragraph ! 
"The Church of God which sojourns at Smyrna, to the 
Church of God sojourning in Philomelium, and to all the 
congregations of the Holy and Catholic Church in every 
place: Mercy, peace, and love from God the Father, and 
our Lord Jesus Christ, be multiplied.'^ 

The same consciousness of visible Unity is shown in the 
twentieth chapter of the Epistle. "Since, then, ye re- 
quested that we would at large make you acquainted with 
what really took place, we have for the present sent you 
this summary account through our brother Marcua. 
When, therefore, ye have yourselves read this Epistle, 
be pleased to send it to the brethren at a greater distance, 
that they also may glorify the Lord, who makes such 
choice of His own servants.'^ 

IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 

In point of time the Epistles of Ignatius (third bishop 
of Antioch, following St. Peter and Evodius), come next 
to the Epistle of Clement of Pome, the probable date be- 
ing 107. On his way to martyrdom at Pome, Ignatius 
stopped at Smyrna (the See of Polycarp), and wrote 
his four Epistles to the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the 
Trallians, and the Romans. Passing on to Troas, he tar- 
ried there a few days, and wrote Epistles to the Phila- 
delphians, the Smymseans, and to Polycarp, his friend 
and fellow-bishop. 

From the Epistle to the Ephesians, which speaks at 
some length of Unity, a sentence or two will show the 
trend. "But inasmuch as love suffers me not to be silent 
in regard to you, I have therefore taken upon me first 



102 UNITY AND ROME 

to exhort you that ye would all run together in accord- 
ance with the will of God. For even Jesus Christ, our 
inseparable life, is the (manifested) will of the Father; 
as also bishops, settled everywhere to the utmost bounds 
(of the earth), are so by the will of Jesus Christ.'^ 

The following from the Epistle to the Magnesians is 
commended to the serious consideration of the various 
Denominations to-day. "As therefore the Lord did noth- 
ing without the Father, being united to Him, neither 
by Himself nor by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything 
without the bishop and presbyters. Neither endeavor that 
anything appear reasonable and proper to yourselves 
apart; but being come together into the same place, let 
there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one 
hope, in love and in joy undefiled. There is one Jesus 
Christ, than Whom nothing is more excellent. Do ye 
therefore all run together as into one temple of God, as 
to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from 
one Father, and is with and has gone to one." 

From the Epistle to the Trallians these words are 
quoted: "I salute you from Smyrna, together with the 
Churches of God which are with me, who have refreshed 
me in all things, both in the flesh and in the spirit. My 
bonds, which I carry about with me for the sake of Jesus 
Christ (praying that I may attain to God), exhort you. 
Continue in harmony among yourselves, and in prayer 
with one another; for it becomes every one of you, and 
especially the presbyters, to refresh the bishop, to the 
honor of the Father, of Jesus Christ, and of the Apostles." 

The good Bishop A. C. Coxe remarks with a bias from 
which even that saintly scholar was not free, "The Epistle 
(of Ignatius) to the Romans is utterly inconsistent with 
any conception on his part, that Rome was the see and 
residence of a bishop holding any other than fraternal 
relations with himself." The present writer in a later 
generation occupied the same room in the old East Build- 
ing of the General Theological Seminary, Chelsea Square, 



CLEMENT OF ROME TO IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 103 

New York, once the habitation of the learned bishop in 
his student days. His name was cut on the window pane, 
and it was an inspiration to a neophyte to live there. It 
is with some trepidation, therefore, that the Salutation 
(twice as long as the Salutation to any other Epistle of 
Ignatius, and profoundly reverential) of the Epistle in 
question is quoted in full. 

^^Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church 
which has obtained mercy, through the majesty of the Most 
High Father, and Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son; 
the Church which is beloved and enlightened by the will 
of Him that willeth all things which are according to 
the love of Jesus Christ our God, which also presides 
in the place of the region of the Romans, worthy of 
God, worthy of honor, worthy of the highest happiness, 
worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, 
worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over 
love, is named from Christ, and from the Father, which I 
also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the 
Father: to those who are united, both according to the 
flesh and spirit, to every one of His commandments ; who 
are filled inseparably with the grace of God, and are 
purified from every strange taint (I wish) abundance 
of happiness unblameably, in Jesus Christ our God.^^ 

It would appear therefore that Ignatius of Antioch, 
and quite naturally, was not without filial reverence for 
the See of Peter, who had been the founder of his own 
See, and only separated by Evodius from the Fisherman, 
beloved and honored of Christ. The Epistle to the Ro- 
mans makes no reference to the Unity of the Church, it 
being taken up with the earnest plea of Ignatius that the 
Christians at Rome would not seek to interfere with his 
being thrown to the lions. "I am the wheat of God," he 
said, ^^let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, 
that I may be found the pure bread of Christ." 

There is also food for thought in the following passage 
from the Epistle to the Philadelphians. "For as many 



104 UNITY AND ROME 

as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the 
bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of re- 
pentance, return into the Unity of the Church, these, too, 
shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus 
Christ. Do no"^ err, my brethren. If any man follows 
him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not 
inherit the kingdom of God. If any one walks according 
to a strange opinion, he agrees not with the passion (of 
Christ).'^ 

The Epistle to the Smymseans is famous for being 
the first among patristic writings to use the expression 
"the Catholic Church." It occurs in the following para- 
graph. "See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus 
Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would 
the Apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the 
institution of God. Let no man do anything connected 
with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed 
a proper Eucharist, which is (administered) either by 
the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. 
Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude 
(of the people) also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ 
is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful with- 
out the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love- 
feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also 
pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be 
secure and valid." 

One cannot help wondering how the founders of the 
various sects in Reformation times, in the face of tes- 
timony such as this and the practice of the Catholic 
Church throughout the ages, dared to break away from 
the bishops. 

Especially touching is the Epistle sent back from Troas 
by Ignatius, the bishop on his way to martyrdom, tO' his 
friend and fellow-bishop Polycarp, also to receive the 
martyr's crown a few decades later. This short extract 
might well be engraved on the heart of every good bishop. 
"Maintain thy position with all care, both in the flesh 



CLEMENT OF EOME TO IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 105 

and spirit. Have a regard to preserve unity, than which 
nothing is better. Bear with all, even as the Lord does 
with thee. Support all in love, as also thou doest. Give 
thyself to prayer without ceasing. Implore additional 
understanding to what thou already hast. Be watchful, 
possessing a sleepless spirit. Speak to every man sepa- 
rately, as God enables thee. Bear the infirmities of all, 
as being a perfect athlete (in the Christian life) : where 
the labor is great, the gain is all the more.'^ 



CHAPTEE II 

JUSTIN MARTYR IREN^US PASTOR OF HERMAS 

JUSTIISr MARTYR 

THE Gentile layman Justin was bom in Samaria near 
Jacob's well, probably of Eoman origin, about 
110 A.D. After studying all the systems of philosophy, 
he perceived the superiority of Socrates and Plato, and 
through them climbed to Christ. He continued to wear 
the Philosopher's cloak after his conversion as a token 
that he had found the true philosophy. Justin appar- 
ently had suificient means to travel, resided for some years 
in Rome as a teacher of the Christian faith, and finally 
attained the martyr's crown there about 165. 

The nature of his Apologies, addressed to the unbeliev- 
ing Emperor Antoninus Pius and to the Roman Senate, 
did not require him to write in particular of the Unity 
of the Church. He does, however, bear witness to a 
fundamental element of Unity — orthodoxy of Catholic be- 
lief in the Sacraments. 

Chapter LXVI of the First Apology of Justin reads 
as follows: ^^Of the Eucharist. And this food is called 
among us the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to 
partake but the man who believes that the things which 
we teacTi are true, and who has been washed with the 
washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regen- 
eration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. 
For not as common bread and common drink do we re- 
ceive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our 
Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, 
had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise 

106 



JUSTIIyr MARTYR IREN^US PASTOR OF HERMAS 107 

have we been taught that the food which is blessed by 
the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and 
flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and 
blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the Apostles, 
in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gos- 
pels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon 
them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given 
thanks, said, This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is 
My body' ; and that, after the same manner, having taken 
the cup and given thanks. He said, This is My blood'; 
and gave it to them alone." 

Again Justin says in the Dialogue with Trypho the 
Jew, chap. CXVII, ^^Accordingly, God, anticipating all 
the sacrifices which we offer through this name, and which 
Jesus Christ enjoined us to offer, i.e., in the Eucharist 
of the bread and the cup, and which are presented by 
Christians in all places throughout the world, bears wit- 
ness that they are well-pleasing to Him." 

Testimony like this, coming at so early a period in the 
Church, places the burden of proof upon Zwinglius and 
other reforming innovators, when they presume to depart 
from the Faith of the Holy Catholic Church. 



IREN^US 

What a precious chain links the learned and saintly 
Bishop of Lyons, Irenaeus (120-202) to the Apostles! 
Polycarp, the pupil of St. John, had sent at an early date 
his pupil, Pothinus, into Celtic Gaul as an evangelist and 
first bishop of Lyons. Irenseus, friend of Pothinus and 
fellow-disciple with him of Polycarp, joined him as 
presbyter, and succeeded him as second bishop of Lyons. 
Like Pothinus he sealed his faith by martyrdom. 

It will be sufficient to quote in part the famous tenth 
chapter from his great work "Against Heresies." The 
chapter bears the title, "Unity of the Faith of the Church 
Throughout the Whole World." 



108 UNITY AND EOME 

^^1. The Church, though dispersed throughout the 
whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received 
from the Apostles and their disciples this faith: (She be- 
lieves) in one God, the Father Almighty,'^ etc. (Here 
follows a statement of the Christian Faith quite in keep- 
ing with the Creed that was to be formulated by the 
Nicene Fathers in 325.) 

"2. As I have already observed, the Church, having 
received this preaching and this faith, although scattered 
throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but 
one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these 
points (of doctrine) just as if she had but one soul, 
and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and 
teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect har- 
mony, as if she possessed only one mouth. For, although 
the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the im- 
port of the tradition is one and the same. For the 
Churches which have been planted in Germany do not 
believe or hand down anything different, nor do those 
in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East, nor 
those in Egypt, nor those in Libya, nor those which have 
been established in the central regions of the world. 
But as the sun, that creature of God, is one and the 
same throughout the world, so also the preaching of the 
truth shineth everywhere, and enlightens all men that 
are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth. N'or 
will any one of the rulers in the Churches, however highly 
gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines 
different from these (for no one is greater than the 
Master) ; nor on the other hand, will he who is deficient 
in the power of expression inflict injury on the tradition. 
For the faith being ever one and the same, neither does 
any one who is able at great length to discourse regarding 
it, make any addition to it, nor does one, who can say 
but little, diminish it." 



JUSTIN MABTTE lEEN^US PASTOR OF HERMAS 109 

THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS 

The authorship of this ancient writing, attributed by 
the early Church to the fellow-worker of St. Paul, but 
by later scholarship to an Alexandrian Jew in the times 
of Trajan and Hadrian (A.D. 100), does not concern 
our present purpose. In this somewhat lengthy Epistle, 
however, there is a single sentence, which is significant 
of the writer's mind upon the matter in hand. "Thou 
shalt not make a schism, but thou shalt pacify those that 
contend by bringing them together. '^ 

FRAGMEISTTS OF PAPIAS 

Unfortunately in the few fragments which remain of 
the five books written by Papias on "The Exposition 
of the Oracles of the Lord,'' there is no direct statement 
bearing upon Unity. He is credited with being a friend 
of Polycarp, and a hearer of Aristion and John the Pres- 
byter. Both Eusebius and Irenseus quote him, and the 
implication received from his standing in the early Church 
as bishop of Hieropolis, and as an author of note, is all 
in favor of the solidarity of the Catholic Church. He is 
thought to have lived from A.D. 75 to 155. 

PASTOR OF HERMAS 

The Muratorian fragment (authorship unknown) says, 
^^The Pastor was written very lately in our times, in the 
city of Eome, by Hermas, while Bishop Pius, his brother, 
sat in the chair of the Church of the city of Eome." 
That statement would make its date about 160 A.D. 

It was perhaps the most popular book in the second, 
third, and fourth centuries, and was read publicly in the 
churches. Irenseus quotes it as Scripture, and it is re- 
ferred to by Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, 
and Jerome. The importance of Unity is set forth by 



110 TTNITY AND EOME 

the author in the following passage from his Vision of the 
Building of the Triumphant Church. 

^^She said to me, ^Lo! do you not see opposite to you 
a great tower, built upon the waters, of splendid square 
stones?' For the tower was built square by those six 
young men who had come with her. But myriads of men 
were carrying stones to it, some dragging them from the 
depths, others removing them from the land, and they 
handed them to these six young men. They were taking 
them and building; and those of the stones that were 
dragged out of the depths, they placed in the building 
just as they were: for they were polished and fitted ex- 
actly into the other stones, and became so united one 
with another that the lines of juncture could not be per- 
ceived. And in this way the building of the tower looked 
as if it were made out of one stone. Those stones, how- 
ever, which were taken from the earth suffered a different 
fate: for the young men rejected some of them, some 
they fitted into the building, and some they cut down, 
and cast far away from the tower. Many other stones, 
however, lay around the tower, and the young men did 
not use them in building: for some of them were rough, 
others had cracks in them, others had been made too short, 
and others were white and round, but did not fit into 
the building of the tower. Moreover, I saw other stones 
thrown far away from the tower, and falling into the 
public road: yet they did not remain on the road, but 
were rolled into a pathless place. And I saw others fall- 
ing into the fire and burning, others falling close to the 
water, and yet not capable of being rolled into the water, 
though they wished to be rolled down, and to enter the 
water/'— (Vision Third, Chap. II.) 

TATIAN 

Tatian (A.D. 110-172), best known for his Diatessaron, 
a work in which he has woven the four Gospels into a 



JUSTIN MARTYR IRENiEUS PASTOR OF HERMAS 111 

continuous narrative^ makes no direct reference to the 
Unity of the Church. He does, however, in his Address 
to the Greeks indicate his beli'ef in its essential character. 
In Chap. XXXII oil The Doctrine of the Christians, 
as opposed to Dissensions, and fitted for All, he writes 
as follows : ^^But with us there is no desire of vainglory, 
nor do we indulge in a variety of opinions. For having 
renounced the popular and earthly, and obeying the com- 
mands of God, and following the law of the Father of 
immortality, we reject everything which rests upon human 
opinion.^^ 

THEOPHILUS 

Theophilus (A.D. 115-181), in the three books of hid 
sole-surviving work. The Apology Addressed to the 
Heathen Autolycus, had no occasion in a writing of this 
character to refer to the subject in hand. 

ATHEKAGORAS 

Athenagoras (A.D. circa 177), in his two extant works, 
A Plea for the Christians, addressed to the Emperors 
Aurelius and Commodus, and in the treatise on The Res- 
urrection of the Dead, does not mention the matter of 
Church Unity. When one considers the merit and ele- 
gance of the work of this author, it is singular that only 
two references to him or to his writings are found in 
early ecclesiastical literature. Even Eusebius, "the 
father of church history,'^ does not mention him. 



CHAPTER III 

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA 

CLEMENT (A.D. 153-217), the successor of Pantaenus 
its founder as Head of the Catechetical School at 
Alexandria, may be regarded after Justin and Irenseus 
as the founder of Christian literature. Clement refers 
in his writings to his own work (unfortunately lost) on 
The Unity and Excellence of the Church. Three works 
of his remain to us — all of substantial length and in- 
valuable as throwing light on the life of his age^ — namely, 
Exhortation to the Heathen, The Instructor, and The 
Stromata, or Miscellanies. The last-named contains, in 
Chap. XVII on The Tradition of the Church Prior to 
That of the Heresies, the following strong and illuminat- 
ing statement on the Unity of the Church. 

^^Those, then, that adhere to impious words, and dic- 
tate them to others, inasmuch as they do not make a 
right but a perverse use of the divine words, neither 
themselves enter into the kingdom of heaven, nor permit 
those whom they have deluded to attain the truth. But 
not having the key of entrance, but a false (and as the 
common phrase expresses it), a counterfeit key, by which 
they do not enter in as we enter in, through the tradition 
of the Lord, by drawing aside the curtain; but bursting 
through the side-door, and digging clandestinely through 
the wall of the Church, and stepping over the truth, they 
constitute themselves the Mystagogues (mystifiers) of the 
soul of the impious. 

For that the human assemblies which they held were 
posterior to the Catholic Church, requires not many words 
to show. • • • 

112 



CLEMENT OF AXEXAISDEIA 113 

From what has been said, then, it is my opinion that 
the true Church, that which is really ancient, is one, and 
that in it those who according to God^s purpose are just, 
are enrolled. For from the very reason that God is one, 
and the Lord one, that which is in the highest degree 
honorable is lauded in consequence of its singleness, being 
an imitation of the one first principle. In the nature 
of the One, then, is associated in a joint heritage the 
one Church, which they strive to cut asunder into many 
sects. . . . But the preeminence of the Church, as the 
principle of union, is, in its oneness, in this surpassing 
all things else, and having nothing like or equal to itself." 
(Stromata, Chap. XVII.) 

TEKTULLIAN 

Tertullian (A.D. 175-220), notwithstanding his lapse 
into Montanism in the latter third of his life (alleged 
by Jerome to have been brought about by the envy and 
contumelious treatment of the Roman clergy), still re- 
mains the founder of Latin theology. Cyprian and Augus- 
tine built upon the foundations laid by him. Indeed, the 
former was accustomed to say daily, "Give me my mas- 
ter!" meaning Tertullian. He wrote voluminously and 
much of his work happily is preserved. The very words 
of Latin theology are stamped with his genius, and he 
may be said to have prepared the language of the Vulgate 
for Jerome. 

In Chap. XXXIX of The Apology, we begin to get 
his views on the Unity of the Church. The passage is 
as follows: "I shall at once go on, then, to exhibit the 
peculiarities of the Christian society, that, as I have 
refuted the evil charged against it, I may point out its 
positive good. We are a body knit together as such 
by a common religious profession, by unity of discipline, 
and by the bond of a common hope. We meet together 
as an assembly and congregation, that, offering up prayer 



114 UNITY AND ROME 

to God as with united force, we may wrestle with Him 
in our supplications." 

In the Prescription Against Heretics, TertuUian writes 
with unmistakable plainness regarding the character of 
the Church, as follows: 

^^And after first bearing witness to the faith in Jesus 
Christ throughout Judsea, and founding churches (there), 
they next went forth into the world and preached the 
same doctrine of the same faith to the nations. Thev 
then in like manner founded churches in every city, from 
which all the other churches, one after another, derived 
the tradition of the faith, and the seeds of doctrine, and 
are every day deriving them, that they may become 
churches. Indeed, it is on this account only that they 
will be able to deem themselves Apostolic, as being the 
offspring of Apostolic churches. Every sort of thing must 
necessarily revert to its original for classification. There- 
fore the churches, although they are so many and so great, 
comprise but the one primitive church (founded) by the 
Apostles, from which they all spring. In this way all 
are primitive, and all are Apostolic, whilst they are all 
proved to be one, in (unbroken) unity, by their peaceful 
communion, and title of brotherhood, and bond of hos- 
pitality, — privileges which no other rule directs than the 
one tradition of the selfsame mystery.'^ (On Prescrip- 
tion Against Heretics, Chap. XX.) 

In Chap. XXI he goes on to say, "If then, these 
things are so, it is in the same degree manifest that 
all doctrine which agrees with the Apostolic churches — 
those molds and original sources of the faith must be 
reckoned for truth, as undoubtedly that which the (said) 
churches received from the Apostles, the Apostles from 
Christ, Christ from God." 

TertuUian follows this statement up in Chap. XXII 
with more language of the same sort, to- this effect. 
"Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, 
who is called ^the rock on which the church should be 



CLEMEl^T OF ALEXANDRIA 115 

built/ who also obtained ^tbe keys of the kingdom of 
heaven/ with the power of ^loosing and binding in heaven 
and on earth V ^^ 

Again in Chap. XXXII of the same work he writes 
thus. ^^But if there be any (heresies) which are bold 
enough to plant themselves in the midst of the Apostolic 
age, that they may thereby seem to have been handed 
down by the Apostles, because they existed in the time 
of the Apostles, we can say : Let them produce the original 
records of their churches : let them unfold the roll of their 
bishops, running down in due succession from the begin- 
ning in such a manner that (that first bishop of theirs) 
bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and prede- 
cessor some one of the Apostles or of Apostolic men, — a 
man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the Apos- 
tles. For this is the manner in which the Apostolic 
churches transmit their registers: as the church of 
Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein 
by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes 
Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter. ^^ 

Once more in Chap. XXXVI Tertullian writes, and if 
possible, with greater force. ^^Since, moreover, you are 
close upon Italy, you have Rome, from which there comes 
even into our own hands the very authority (of Apostles 
themselves). How happy is its church, on which Apostles 
poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood! 
where Peter endures a passion like his Lord^s! where 
Paul wins his crown in a death like John's! where the 
Apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, 
and thence remitted to his island-exile ! See what she has 
learned, what taught, what fellowship has had with even 
(our) churches in Africa! One Lord God does she ac- 
knowledge, the Creator of the universe, and Jesus Christ 
(born) of the Virgin Mary, the Son of God the Creator: 
and the Resurrection of the fiesh : the law and the prophets 
she unites in one volume with the writings of evangelists 
and Apostles, from which she drinks in" her faith. This 



116 UNITY AND ROME 

she seals with the water (of baptism) , arrays with the 
Holy Ghost, feeds with the Eucharist, cheers with mar- 
tyrdom, and against such a discipline thus (maintained) 
she admits no gainsayer.'^ (On Prescription Against Her- 
etics.) 

MllSrUCIUS FELIX 

Minncius Felix (A.D. circa 210), contemporary of 
TertuUian, in his Octavius (an argument supposed to 
take place between a Christian, Octavius, and a heathen, 
Csecilius, and considered the most elegant bit of writing 
among the Latin Fathers) does not refer to the subject 
in hand. 

COMMODIANUS 

Commodianus (A.D. circa 240), in his Instructions 
in Favor of Christian Discipline Against the Gods of 
the Heathen, makes no mention of the Unity of the 
Church. 

OEIGEN- 

Origen (A.D. 185-254), the disciple of Clement of 
Alexandria, became the third head of the Catechetical 
School in that city at the surprising age of eighteen, 
following Pantsenus and his teacher Clement. Despite 
his self -mutilation, and in violation of an Apostolic canon, 
he was ordained to the Priesthood while on a visit to 
Palestine by his admiring friends, the Bishops of Jerusa- 
lem and Csesarea, and against the wishes of his own 
bishop, Demetrius of Alexander. Origen was preemi- 
nently a theologian and scholar, with a special gift for 
imparting his knowledge, living in purity and holy pov- 
erty. His fame for learning extended to Rome, Greece, 
and Asia, which places also he visited, and his tendency 
towards an inner, or symbolical, interpretation of the 
Sacred Scriptures is characteristic of the Alexandrine 
School. Only fragments of his work on the Bible, the 
Hexapla, remain, but fortunately two of his principal 



CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA 117 

writings are preserved^ De Principiis, and Against Celsus. 

Origen uses repeatedly the expressions, ^^the teaching 
of the Church/^ and "the faith of the Church/^ showing 
his knowledge of and belief in the same, as necessary to 
membership in the Catholic and Orthodox Body. As an 
ordained priest and accredited teacher among the faith- 
ful, he is most likely to have held Catholic positions re- 
garding the Unity of the Church in matters of Orders 
and Discipline, although he has not written specifically 
on these points, so far as his extant works go. The 
following passage indicates his adherence to Apostolic 
tradition. 

"Since many, however, of those who profess to believe 
in Christ differ from each other, not only in small and 
trifling matters, but also on subjects of the highest im- 
portance, as, e.g., regarding God, or the Lord Jesus 
Christ, or the Holy Spirit : and not only regarding these, 
but also regarding others which are created existences, 
viz., the powers and the holy virtues: it seems on that 
account necessary first of all to fix a definite limit and 
to lay down an unmistakable rule regarding each one 
of these, ... so, seeing there are many who think they 
hold the opinions of Christ, and yet some of these think 
differently from their predecessors, yet as the teaching 
of the Church, transmitted in orderly succession from 
the Apostles, and remaining in the Churches to the present 
day, is still preserved, that alone is to be accepted as 
truth which differs in no respect from ecclesiastical and 
Apostolic tradition.'' (De Principiis, Preface.) 

HIPPOLTTUS 

Hippolytus (170-236), Bishop of Portus near Rome 
and pupil of Irenseus, in his Refutation of All Heresies 
(in ten books, of which II and III are missing), makes 
no direct reference to the Unity of the Church. This 
treatise was formerly believed to be the work of Origen, 



118 TJNITY AND ROME 

but is now by a majority of scholars assigned to Hippo- 
lytus. The zeal of the latter for Catholic truth against 
every form of heresy is sufficient evidence that he was 
sound with respect to Unity. It must be remembered 
that both faith and discipline are essential to Unity, 
and surely the disciple of Irenseus was loyal to Apostolic 
tradition and practice. 

CYPRIAN 

Cyprian (A.D. 200-258), the disciple of TertuUian, 
became a convert to Christianity in 246^ and was so highly 
thought of by his fellows that he was consecrated Bishop 
of Carthage two years later. As he attained martyrdom 
in 258, all his great work for the Church was done 
within the brief period of a decade. In his numerous 
Epistles and Treatises he repeatedly speaks of the sub- 
ject in hand, particularly in his famous work, "The 
Unity of the Church.'' Out of many passages that might 
be cited, a few will answer our purpose. The following 
is from the Letter to Antonianus about Cornelius and 
Novatian. 

"Cyprian to Antonianus his brother, greeting. I re- 
ceived your first letters, dearest brother, firmly maintain- 
ing the concord of the priestly college, and adhering to 
the Catholic Church, in which you intimated that you 
did not hold communion with Novatian (irregular and 
schismatic bishop), but followed my advice, and held one 
common agreement with Cornelius (bishop of Rome) our 
co-bishop. You wrote, moreover, for me to transmit a 
copy of those same letters to Cornelius our colleague, so 
that he might lay aside all anxiety, and know at once 
that you held communion with him, that is, with the 
Catholic Church.'' (Epistle LI.) 

"In reference, however, to the character of Novatian, 
dearest brother, of whom you desired that intelligence 
should be written you what heresy he had introduced: 



CLEMENT OF ALEXANDEIA 119 

know that, in tlie first place, we ought not even to be 
inquisitive as to what he teaches, so long as he teaches 
out of the pale of unity. Whoever he may be, and 
whatever he may be, he who is not in the Church of 
Christ is not a Christian . . . and although there is one 
Church, divided by Christ throughout the whole world 
into many members, and also one episcopate diffused 
through a harmonious multitude of many bishops; in 
spite of God's tradition, in spite of the combined and 
everywhere compacted unity of the Catholic Church, is 
endeavoring to make a human church, and is sending his 
new apostles through very many cities, that he may es- 
tablish some new foundations of his own appointment. 
. . . But he could not hold the episcopate, even if he 
had before been made a bishop, since he has cut himself 
off from the body of his fellow-bishops, and from the 
Unity of the Church: since the Apostle admonishes that 
we should mutually sustain one another, and not with- 
draw from the Unity which God has appointed." (Ibid.) 

The American editor of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, 
avowedly anti-Roman in his comments on the writings of 
Cyprian, was nevertheless obliged to admit the following 
passage. The quotation is taken verbatim from good 
Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe's American Edition. 

^^If any one consider and examine these things, there 
is no need for lengthened discussion and arguments. 
There is easy proof for faith in a short summary of the 
truth. The Lord speaks to Peter, saying, ^I say unto 
thee, that thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build 
my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall 
be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose 
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' And again to the 
same He says, after His resurrection, Teed my sheep.' 
And although to all the Apostles, after His resurrection, 
He gives an equal power, and says, 'As the Father hath 



120 UNITY AND EOMB 

sent me^ even so send I you : Receive ye the Holy Ghost : 
Whose soever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted unto 
him; and whose soever sins ye retain, they shall be re- 
tained' : yet, that He might set forth unity, He arranged 
by His authority the origin of that unity, as beginning 
from one. Assuredly the rest of the Apostles were also 
the same as was Peter, endowed with a like partnership 
both of honor and power: but the beginning proceeds 
from unity. Which one Church, also, the Holy Spirit 
in the Song of Songs designated in the person of our 
Lord, and says, ^My dove, my spotless one, is but one. 
She is the only one of her mother, elect of her that bare 
her.' Does he who does not hold this unity of the 
Church think that he holds the faith? Does he who 
strives against and resists the Church trust that he is in 
the Church, when moreover the blessed Apostle Paul 
teaches the same thing, and sets forth the sacrament of 
unity, saying, ^There is one body and one spirit, one 
hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 
one God?' 

"And this unity we ought firmly to hold and assert, 
especially those of us that are bishops who preside in 
the Church, that we may also prove the episcopate itself 
to be one and undivided. . . . The episcopate is one, 
each part of which is held by each one for the whole. 
The Church also is one, which is spread abroad far and 
wide into a multitude by an increase of fruitfulness. 
As there are many rays of the sun, but one light; and 
many branches of a tree, but! one strength based in 
its tenacious root; and since from one spring flow many 
streams, although the multiplicity seems diffused in the 
liberality of an overflowing abundance, yet the unity is 
still preserved in the source." (On the Unity of the 
Church, 4, 5.) 

As indicated by its title the entire Treatise of Cyprian 
might be quoted with advantage. Remembering the early 
date of this great Father of the Church, and the high 



CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA 121 

estimation in which he is held, those who are seeking a 
real Unity would do well to read and ponder the clear- 
cut and unmistakable language of Cyprian. 

CAIUS 

Caius (A.D. 180-217), a presbyter of Rome while 
Zephyrinus was bishop of that city, is mentioned by 
Eusebius as a learned man who wrote a Refutation against 
Proclus, a Montanist. Only a few fragments remain 
of the writings of Caius, preserved in the ecclesiastical 
history of Eusebius. For the sake of those who doubt 
that St. Peter was in Rome, a few lines are quoted. 

^^And I can show the trophies of the Apostles. For if 
you choose to go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Road, 
you will find the trophies of those who founded this 
church.'' (A Dialogue or Disputation Against Proclus.) 

"For they say that all those of the first age, and the 
Apostles themselves, both received and taught those things 
which these men maintain; and that the truth of Gospel 
preaching was preserved until the times of Victor, who was 
the thirteenth bishop in Rome from Peter, and that from 
his successor Zephyrinus the truth was falsified. And 
perhaps what they allege might be credible, did not the 
Holy Scriptures, in the first place, contradict them. And 
then, besides, there are writings of certain brethren older 
than the times of Victor, which they wrote against the 
heathen in defense of the truth, and against the heresies 
of their time: I mean Justin and Miltiades, and Tatian 
and Clement, and many others, in all which divinity is 
ascribed to Christ." (Against the Heresy of Artemon. 
Fragment from Caius.) 

iq'OVATLA.IT 

ITovatian (A.D. 210-280), the learned and able Roman 
presbyter who later through overweening ambition became 



122 UNITY AND ROME 

schismatic bishop in Rome in rivalry to Cornelius, the 
lawful bishop, does not touch upon the Unity of the 
Church in his Treatise Concerning the Trinity, nor in 
his shorter work On The Jewish Meats. He does, how- 
ever, repeatedly refer to the Rule of Faith, meaning the 
Creed. Novatian was so eminently sound on those articles 
of the Creed relating to each Person of the Holy Trinity, 
that it is fair to think that he also believed in the suc- 
ceeding article, the Holy Catholic Church. 

MINOR WRITERS 

In the extant writings of Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dio- 
nysius the Great, Julius Af ricanus, Anatolius, Methodius, 
Arnobius, and others of lesser note, in the period pre- 
ceding the first General Council of Nicsea 325 A.D., there 
is no direct reference to the Unity of the Church. Here 
and there in the writings of some of these authors the 
expressions ^^the Catholic Church'' and "the Catholic 
faith" are to be found. The implication, therefore, is 
that the writers mentioned held the same views in the 
main as the bishops with whom they were in communion, 
and who did write expressly regarding the subject with 
which the present volume has to do. 

XACTANTIUS 

Lactantius (260-330), the charming Latinist, also 
called the Christian Cicero, attained fame in his heathen 
days as a teacher of rhetoric. Later he devoted himself 
to literary composition, and after becoming a Christian 
he was entrusted by the Emperor Constantine with the 
education of his son Crispus. However, it must be said 
of Lactantius that his writings are rather those of an 
eager convert than of a well-grounded theologian. The 
Divine Institutes, of which also he wrote an Epitome for 
the benefit of his brother Pentadius, was his greatest 



CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA 123 

work, and is of considerable length. One quotation will 
answer our purpose. 

"Therefore it is the Catholic Church alone which re- 
tains true worship. This is the fountain of truth, this 
is the abode of the faith, this is the temple of God; into 
which if any one shall not enter, or from which if any 
shall go out, he is estranged from the hope of life and 
eternal salvation, l^o one ought to flatter himself with 
persevering strife. For the contest is respecting life and 
salvation, which, unless it is carefully and diligently 
kept in view, will be lost and extinguished. But, how- 
ever, because all the separate assemblies of heretics call 
themselves Christians in preference to others, and think 
that theirs is the Catholic Church, it must be known that 
the true Catholic Church is that in which there is con- 
fession and repentance, which treats in a wholesome man- 
ner the sins and wounds to which the weakness of the 
flesh is liable." (Lactantius, "The Divine Institutes/^ 
Book IV, Chap. XXX.) 



CHAPTEE IV 

THE TESTIMONY OF THE POST-NICENE FATHERS 

AS in the case of the chapters devoted to the Ante- 
Nicene Fathers, a brief account of the life of each 
writer precedes the quotations from his works. The ob- 
jective aimed at in citing the testimony of these early 
Doctors of the Church is two-fold. First, we desire to 
see what importance, if any, the ancient Fathers laid 
upon Unity. Second, we would like to see for ourselves 
what these same Fathers had to say about the Apostolic 
See in connection with this matter of the Unity of the 
Church. 

SAINT AUGUSTINE 

Aurelius Augustinus was bom at Tagaste, a small vil- 
lage of JSTumidia in northern Africa, not far from Hippo 
Eegius, on ITovember 13th, 354. From his heathen 
father Patricius (who received baptism, however, before 
his death) he inherited a passionate sensibility, and from 
his Christian mother. Saint Monica, a deep yearning to- 
wards God. Strange to say, even in his non-christian 
days through the maze of worldly pleasures and sin, 
through Manichsean heresy. Academic skepticism, and 
Platonic philosophy, Augustine carried a reverence for 
the sweet and holy name of Jesus. At last the grace of 
God, working through the prayers of his mother, the 
sermons of Saint Ambrose, the biography of St. Anthony, 
and the Epistles of St. Paul, wrought the conversion of 
the brilliant and popular teacher of rhetoric at the age 
of thirty-three in the year 386 in the garden of the Villa 
Cassiciacum not far from Milan. 

124 



TESTIMONY OF POST-NICENE FATHEES 125 

His saintly mother was spared to witness this happy 
event and died in the arms of her son shortly after, 
Augustine was privileged to receive baptism the next year 
at the hands of St. Ambrose^ with whom later according 
to tradition he composed the Te Deum. Eetiring to his 
native Tagaste for a period of contemplation and literary 
retirement, he was called at the end of three years, and 
against his will, by the voice of the people to be pres- 
byter at Hippo in 391. Four years later he was elected 
Bishop of Hippo (now Bona), and for thirty-eight years 
until his death in 430 he made it the intellectual center 
of Western Christendom. 

Augustine lived in simple style in one house with his 
clergy, making his abode a seminary of theology out of 
which went ten bishops and many lower clergy. He 
preached often (sometimes five times a day), was devoted 
to the poor, wrote voluminously, and became the champion 
of the orthodox doctrine for the whole Church against 
Manichsean, Donatist, and Pelagian. Soon after his death 
Hippo was taken and destroyed by the Vandals, and Africa 
was lost to the Eomans. The Church in northern Africa 
was practically wiped out at the same time. The influ- 
ence of Augustine, however, has lived on, and his work has 
produced abundant fruit among the nations of the world. 

The genius of Augustine as a philosopher and theo- 
logian is immortalized in his Confessions, Letters, City of 
God, and various Treatises. His learning, however, was 
not equal to his natural genius. He confesses that his 
knowledge of Greek is superficial compared with that 
of Jerome. Hebrew, he knew not at all, and notwith- 
standing his remarkable knowledge of the Latin Bible he 
made mistakes in exposition. Nevertheless Augustine 
ranks as a giant among the theologians of all time. Out 
of many passages bearing upon our subject, we quote 
the following. 

"For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken 
into account, with how much more certainty and benefit 



126 UITITY AND ROME 

to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter him- 
self^ to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, 
the Lord said : ^Upon this rock I will build my Church, 
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!' The 
successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in un- 
broken continuity were these: (here follows a list of thirty- 
six bishops), whose successor is the present Bishop Anas- 
tasius.'' (Letter LIII, 400 A.D., written regarding the 
break in the Unity of the Church caused by the Donatist 
heresy. ) 

Others say: ^^We thought, indeed, that it mattered 
not in what communion we held the faith of Christ; but 
thanks to the Lord, who has gathered us in from a state 
of schism, and has taught us that it is fitting that the one 
God be worshiped in unity.'' (Letter XCIII, 408, written 
against the Donatists.) 

''. . . also to decide the question whether persons ought 
not to be driven forth even from a church, who seek a 
refuge there in order that they may break the faith 
pledged to sureties, I desire with the Lord's help to use 
the necessary measures in our Council, and, if it be neces- 
sary, to write to the Apostolic See; that, by a unanimous 
authoritative decision of all, we may have the course 
which ought to be followed in these cases determined and 
established." (From a fragment of a Letter to Classici- 
anus, written about the same time as Letter CCL.) 

The following passage we select from the Treatise on 
Faith and the Creed by Augustine when he was a pres- 
byter, and which he was requested by the Bishops to de- 
liver in the form of a discourse at the important Council 
of Carthage held in 393 A.D. 

^^Inasmuch, I repeat, as this is the case, we believe also 
in The Holy Church, assuredly Catholic. For both here- 
tics and schismatics style their congregations churches. 
But heretics, in holding false opinions regarding God, 
do injury to the faith itself; while schismatics, on the 
other hand, in wicked separations break oflf from brotherly 



TESTIMONY OF POST-NICENE PATHEES 127 

charity, althougli they may believe what we believe. 
Wherefore neither do the heretics belong to the Church 
catholic, which loves God; nor do the schismatics form 
a part of the samel'' (Chapter X, ^^Of the Catholic 
Church.") 

The following is from another Treatise by Augustine, 
written while he was a presbyter, with the purpose of 
recalling a friend, who had been taken in by the Mani- 
chees, to the Church. 

"The case standing thus, suppose, as I said, that we 
are now for the first time seeking unto what religion 
we shall deliver up our souls, for it to cleanse and renew 
them ; without doubt we must begin with the Catholic 
Church. For by this time there are more Christians, 
than if the Jews and idolaters be added together. But 
of these same Christians, whereas there are several here- 
sies, and all wish to appear Catholics, and call all others 
besides themselves heretics, there is one Church, as all 
allow.'' ("On the Profit of Believing," Sec. 19.) 

"When therefore we see so great help of God, so great 
progress and fruit, shall we doubt to hide ourselves in 
the bosom of that Church, which even unto the confession 
of the human race from the Apostolic chair through suc- 
cessions of Bishops (heretics in vain lurking around her 
and being condemned, partly by the judgment of the very 
people, partly by the weight of councils, partly also by 
the majesty of miracles), hath held the summit of author- 
ity." (Ibid., Sec. 35.) 

From Augustine's Treatise on Baptism, Against the 
Donatists a few striking passages are selected to show his 
position on the Unity of the Catholic Church. 

"We know, indeed, the great merit of the bishop and 
martyr Cyprian; but is it in any way greater than that 
of the Apostle and martyr Peter, of whom the said Cyprian 
speaks as follows in his epistle to Quintus ? Tor neither 
did Peter, whom the Lord chose first, and on whom He 
built His Church, when Paul afterwards disputed with 



128 UNITY AND EOME 

him about circumcision, claim or assume anything inso- 
lently and arrogantly to himself, so as to say that he 
held the primacy, and should rather be obeyed of those 
who were late and newly come/ ... I suppose that there 
is no slight to Cyprian in comparing him with Peter in 
respect to his crown of martyrdom, rather I ought to be 
afraid lest I am showing disrespect towards Peter. For 
who can be ignorant that the primacy of his apostleship 
is to be preferred to any episcopate whatever? But, 
granting the difference in the dignity of their sees, yet 
they have the same glory in their martyrdom/^ (Book II, 
Chap. I.) 

"The charity which covereth the multitude of sins is 
the especial gift of Catholic unity and peace; nor is it 
found in all that are within that bond, since not all that 
are within it are of it, as we shall see in the proper 
place.'^ (Book III, Chap. XVI.) 

"Eor as regards the fact that to preserve the figure 
of unity the Lord gave the power to Peter that whatsoever 
he should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven, it 
is clear that that unity is also described as one dove with- 
out fault.^^ (Ibid., Chap. XVII.) 

Augustine has been quoted pro and con by Catholics and 
Protestants. In the three passages next cited the reader 
can see for himself what this great Doctor of the Church 
thought about Unity and how it was to be preserved. 
The quotations are from his work, "On the Gospel of 
St. John.'^ 

"One wicked man (Judas) represents the whole body 
of the wicked ; in the same way as Peter, the whole body 
of the good, yea, the body of the Church, but in respect 
to the good. For if in Peter's case there were no sac- 
ramental symbol of the Church, the Lord would not have 
said to him, ^I will give unto thee the keys of the king- 
dom of heaven : whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall 
be loosed in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
earth shall be bound in heaven.' If this was said only 



TESTIMONY OF POST-NICENE FATHEKS 129 

to Peter, it gives no ground of action to the Church. But 
if such is the case also in the Church, that what is bound 
on earth is bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth 
is loosed in heaven, — for when the Church excommuni- 
cates, the excommunicated person is bound in heaven; 
when one is reconciled by the Church, the person so recon- 
ciled is loosed in heaven: if such, then, is the case in 
the Church, Peter, in receiving the keys, represented the 
holy Church." ("On the Gospel of St. John," Tractate L, 
Sec. 12.) 

"If, then, charity both has a more excellent way, and 
far excelleth knowledge, and is enjoined above all things, 
it is with great propriety that the garment, by which 
it is signified, is represented as woven from the top. 
And it was without seam, that its sewing might never be 
separated; and came into the possession of one man, be- 
cause He gathereth all into one. Just as in the case 
of the Apostles, who formed the exact number of twelve, 
in other words, were divisible into four parts of three 
each, when the question was put to all of them, Peter 
was the only one that answered, ^Thou art the Christ, the 
Son of the living God'; and to whom it was said, ^I 
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven,' 
as if he alone received the power of binding and loosing ; 
seeing, then, that one so spake in behalf of all, and re- 
ceived the latter along with all, as if personifying the 
unity itself; therefore one stands for all, because there is 
unity in all." ("On the Gospel of St. John," Tractate 
CXVIII, Sec. 4.) 

"And this Church, symbolized in its generality, was 
personified in the Apostle Peter, on account of the primacy 
of his apostleship. For, as regards his proper personality, 
he was by nature one man, by grace one Christian, by 
still more abounding grace one, and yet also, the first 
Apostle; but when it was said to him, ^I will give unto 
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever 
thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and 



130 UNITY AND ROME 

whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in 
heaven/ he represented the universal Church, which in 
this world is shaken by divers temptations, that come 
upon it like torrents of rain, floods and tempests, and 
falleth not, because it is founded upon a rock (petra), 
from which Peter received his name. For petra (rock) 
is not derived from Peter, but Peter from petra; just 
as Christ is not called so from the Christian, but the 
Christian from Christ. For on this very account the 
Lord said, ^On this rock will I build my Church,' because 
Peter had said, ^Thou art the Christ, the Son of the 
living God.' On this rock, therefore. He said, which 
thou hast confessed, I will build my Church. For the 
Rock (Petra) was Christ; and on this foundation was 
Peter himself also built. For other foundation can no 
man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. The 
Church, therefore, which is founded in Christ, received 
from Him the keys of the kingdom of heaven in the person 
of Peter, that is to say, the power of binding and loosing 
sins. For what the Church is essentially in Christ, such 
representatively is Peter in the rock (petra) ; and in this 
representation Christ is to be understood as the Rock, 
Peter as the Church." (^^On the Gospel of St. John,'' 
Tractate CXXIV, Sec. 5.) 

St. Augustine's exhaustive and beautiful Commentary 
on the Psalms was not written all at one time. Judging 
by its length the writing must have extended over a con- 
siderable period. The Donatist break was much in his 
mind, and accordingly we find that he had a great deal 
to say concerning the Unity of the Church. We select 
only three out of numerous passages. 

^^Who are they who hate peace ? They who tear asunder 
unity. For had they not hated peace, they would have 
abode in unity. But they separated themselves, forsooth 
on this account, that they might be righteous, that they 
might not have the ungodly mixed with them. These 
words are either ours or theirs: decide whose. The 



TESTIMOT^l? OF POST-lSriCENE FATHERS 131 

Catholic Church saith, TJnity must not be lost, the Church 
of God must not be cut off. God will judge afterwards 
of the wicked and the good. . . . This we also say: 
Love ye peace, love ye Christ. For if they love peace, 
they love Christ. When therefore we say. Love ye peace, 
we say this, Love ye Christ. Wherefore ? For the Apostle 
saith of Christ, ^He is our peace, who hath made both 
one.^ If Christ is therefore peace, because He hath made 
both one : why have ye made two of one ? How then are 
ye peace-makers, if, when Christ maketh one of two, ye 
make two of one?'' ('^On The Psalms," Psalm CXX, 
Sec. 8.) 

^^Know ye not that ^God hath chosen the contemptible 
things of the world, and those which are not, like as 
those which are, that the things which are may be brought 
to nought' ? From the dunghill was Peter lifted up, and 
Paul; when they were put to death, they were despised: 
now, the earth having been enriched by them, and the 
cross of the Church springing up, behold, all that is noble 
and chief in the world, even the emperor himself, cometh 
to Rome, and whither does he hasten ? to the temple of 
the emperor, or the memorial of the fisherman?" (Ibid., 
Psalm CXLI, Sec. 10.) 

"The Church" then "of the saints" is the Catholic 
Church. The Church of the saints is not the Church of 
heretics. The Church of the saints is that which God 
first prefigured before it was seen, and then set forth that 
it might be seen. The Church of the saints was hereto- 
fore in writings, now it is in nations : the Church of the 
saints was heretofore only read of, now it is both read 
of and seen. When it was only read of, it was believed ; 
now it is seen, and spoken against. His praise is in the 
"children of the kingdom," that is, "the Church of the 
saints." (Ibid., Psalm CXLIX, Sec. 2.) 

The foregoing passages from the writings of the saintly 
Bishop of Hippo — reckoned the greatest theologian of the 
Western Church among the Early Fathers — show plainly 



) 

I 

132 UlSriTY AT^D ROME ! 

several things. He believed absolutely in the Catholic 
Church and in the visible Unity of the same. He held 
the Apostolic See to be the highest ecclesiastical authority 
and the center of Unity for the whole Church. When we 
remember the early date of Augustine, the weight attached 
to his testimony cannot easily be set aside. 



CHAPTER V 



SAINT CHRYSOSTOM 



JOHN (Chrysostom) was bom in 347 at Antioch, 
"where they were first called Christians." His 
father Secundus was a heathen, but his mother Anthusa 
compares with Saint Monica, the mother of Augustine. 
Left a widow at twenty, she devoted herself to the educa- 
tion of her son and his elder sister. The seeds of piety 
planted by her and watered by divine grace produced the 
richest fruits in the life of the "golden-mouthed'' preacher 
and most famous commentator of the Greek Church. 

Happily preserved from the seductions of heathenism, 
he was not baptized until he had reached the age of ma- 
turity, as was the custom in that day among many earnest 
Christians. His teacher Libanius, the friend and admirer 
of Julian the Apostate, was the first classical scholar and 
rhetorician of his age, and regarded John as his best pupil. 
The latter followed in the steps of his teacher, became 
a regular attendant in the secular courts, and was pas- 
sionately fond of the theater. The influence of his mother 
and his intimate friend Basil, together with his study 
of the Bible, caused him to turn away from the brilliant 
career promised in the practice of the law and devote him- 
self to higher things. After the usual period of three 
years as a catechumen he was baptized in his twenty-third 
year by Bishop Meletius. 

His baptism was followed by a radical turning from 
all worldly pursuits and pleasures. It was only at the 
earnest entreaty of his mother that he did not embrace 
the monastic life. Two of his fellow-pupils under Li- 
banius, Maximus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, joined him 

133 



134 tJlSriTY AND ROME 

in sacred studies. Both became Bishops, and Theodore a 
biblical scholar of high rank. 

Admitted to the Minor Order of Lector (Reader) about 
370, he spent six years after the death of his mother 
as a monk (374-381). In the latter year Chrysostom was 
ordained Deacon and to the priesthood in 386. He began 
his public ministry at Antioch, where his reputation as 
a popular preacher grew apace. During the sixteen or 
seventeen years at Antioch he wrote his Homilies, Com- 
mentaries, and a number of other works. Before his 
ordination he had already written his famous Treatise, On 
the Priesthood. During the schisms which rent Antioch 
at this time Chrysostom adhered to the Orthodox party, 
and in 398 reconciled Flavian, the successor of Bishop 
Meletius, with Rome and Alexandria. 

Against his will Chrysostom was consecrated Archbishop 
of Constantinople in 398 by his enemy Theophilus, Patri- 
arch of Alexandria, under the orders of the Emperor, 
His eloquent sermons at once attracted much attention, 
but the simplicity of his life and his severity towards all 
laxity of morals in laity and clergy alike soon made him 
many enemies, including the Empress Eudoxia. During 
an absence of several months at Ephesus on church busi- 
ness Chrysostom was plotted against by the Empress, his 
treacherous Archdeacon Serapion, Theophilus of Alex- 
andria, and other enemies. At the so-called synod of the 
Oak (403) Theophilus, who had come over from Alex- 
andria, held a secret council of thirty-six bishops (all 
Egyptians but seven), and a sentence of deposition and 
banishment was pronounced against Chrysostom. The 
general indignation of the people was great, but he sub- 
mitted and allowed himself to be hurried aboard ship in 
the night and carried to Hieron on the Pontus. The fol- 
lowing night Constantinople was convulsed by an earth- 
quake, and the conscience-stricken Empress besought the 
Emperor to recall him. The re-entry of the Archbishop 
was a veritable triumph, but two months later after a^ 



SAIISTT CHEYSOSTOM 135 

disgraceful insurrection his enemies procured a second 
banishment, which proved to be final. Pope Innocent 
of Rome was appealed to and pronounced the synod irreg- 
ular, but the party of the Empress prevailed and Chrys- 
ostom was exiled to the distant borders of Cilicia and 
Armenia. Here in a lonely mountain village he passed 
the last three years of his life. 

During his exile (403-407) nearly all of his 242 ex- 
tant letters were written, including two to Pope Innocent 
I, whose sympathy and assistance he courted. The Em- 
press Eudoxia, enraged at the influence the exile was 
exerting through his letters, sent two brutal guards to 
conduct him to the more distant Caucasus. The three 
months' journey on foot was too much for the aged 
Archbishop, and he died five or six miles from Comana 
in Pontus on the 14th of September, 407, in the sixtieth 
year of his age, and the tenth of his episcopate. Clothed 
in white baptismal robes he received the eucharist, com- 
mending his soul to God in the words of the motto of his 
life, ^^Glory be to God for all things. Amen.'' Thirty- 
one years later his remains were translated to Constanti- 
nople with great pomp, and interred beneath the altar 
of the church of the Holy Apostles beside emperors and 
patriarchs. The young Emperor Theodosius II and his 
sister Pulcheria knelt beside the coffin and besought the 
forgiveness of heaven for the sin of their parents against 
the greatest and best man who had ever graced the pulpit 
and episcopal chair of Constantinople. 

Anglicans in particular should value the writings of 
St. John Chrysostom because of the prayer (translated 
from the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom), which has so long 
adorned their Morning and Evening Prayer. From a 
number of passages we select a few which bear pertinently 
on the subject in hand. 

"For what purpose did He shed His Blood? It was 
that He might win these sheep which He entrusted to 
Peter and his successors. Il^aturally then did Christ 



136 UNITY AND ROME 

say, Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom 
his lord shall make ruler over His household?' Again, 
the words are those of one who is in doubt, yet the 
speaker did not utter them in doubt, but just as He asked 
Peter whether he loved Him, not from any need to learn 
the affection of the disciple, but from a desire to show 
the exceeding depth of His own love: so now when He 
says, ^Who then is the faithful and wise servant?' He 
speaks not as being ignorant who is faithful and wise, 
but as desiring to set forth the rarity of such a char- 
acter, and the greatness of this office. Observe at any rate 
how great the reward is — ^He will appoint him,' He says, 
^ruler over all his goods.' 

"Will you, then, still contend that you were not rightly 
deceived, when you are about to superintend the things 
which belong to God, and are doing that which when 
Peter did the Lord said he should be able to surpass 
the rest of the Apostles, for His words were, Teter, lovest 
thou Me more than these?'" (''On the Priesthood," 
Book II, Sections 1 and 2.) 

"For as in the care of armies, the wiser of the generals 
have on their hands the more leading and more numerous 
regiments, so, accordingly, in the care of cities. The 
more able of the rulers are entrusted with the larger and 
more populous. And at any rate this city (Antioch) was 
of much account to God, as indeed He manifested by 
the very deeds which He did. At all events the master 
of the whole world, Peter, to whose hands He committed 
the keys of heaven, whom He commanded to do and to 
bear all, He bade tarry here (Antioch) for a long period." 
("Homilies on S. Ignatius and S. Babylas," Sec. 4.) 

The second ecumenical council, which was held at Con- 
stantinople in 381, gave the bishop of Constantinople a 
primacy of honor, next in rank to the bishop of old Rome 
— a position which was afterwards confirmed by the Coun- 
cil of Chalcedon in 451, but disputed by Pope Leo and 



SAINT CHRYSOSTOM 137 

his successors. It is, therefore, of especial interest to read 
what St. Chrysostom wrote to Pope Innocent in the year 
404, regarding the trouble caused by Theophilus, Patri- 
arch of Alexandria. ^ 

"To My Lord, the Most Reverei^d and Divinely Be- 
liOVED Bishop Innocent, John Sends Greeting 
IN THE Lord. 
"I suppose that even before receiving our letter your 
Piety has heard of the iniquity which has been perpetrated 
here. For the magnitude of our distress has left scarcely 
a single portion of the world uninformed of this grievous 
tragedy: for report carrying the tidings of what has 
happened to the very extremities of the earth, has every- 
where caused great mourning 'and lamentation. But in- 
asmuch as we ought not to mourn, but to restore order, 
and to see by what means this most grievous storm of the 
Church may be stayed, we have deemed it necessary to 
persuade my lords, the most honored and pious bishops 
Demetrius, Pansophius, Pappus and Eugenius to leave 
their own churches, and venture on this great sea voyage, 
and set out on a long journey from home, and hasten 
to your Charity, and, after informing you clearly of 
everything, to take measures for redressing the evils as 
speedily as possible. And with them we have sent the 
most honored and beloved of our Deacons, Paulus and 
Cyriacus, but we ourselves, in the form of a letter, will 
briefly instruct your Charity concerning the things which 
have come to pass.'' (Here follows a detailed account of 
the actions of Theophilus and his Egyptian bishops. The 
letter ends as follows.) "Having considered therefore 
all these things, and having been clearly informed of all 
particulars by my lords, our most devout brethren the 
bishops, may you be induced to exert your zeal on our 
behalf; for in so doing you will confer a favor not upon 
ourselves alone but also upon the Church at large, and 



138 UNITY AND BOMB 

you will receive your reward from God wlio does all 
things for the peace of the Churches. Fare thee well 
always, and pray for me, most honored and holy master." 

The following passages are also from Chrysostom. 

"And in those days," it says, "Peter stood up in the 
midst of the disciples, and said. ^Both as being ardent, 
and as having been put in trust by Christ with the flock, 
and as having precedence in honor, he always begins 
the discourse.^ " (Homily III, Acts of the Apostles.) 

"And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all 
quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt 
at Lydda. Like the commander of an army, he went 
about, inspecting the ranks, what part was compact, what 
in good order, what needed his presence. See how on all 
occasions he goes about, foremost." (Homily XXI, Ibid.) 

"For when they who labor more, do not receive the 
greater reward also, many become more listless. On this 
ground even in the kingdom, the honors are not equal, nor 
among the disciples were all alike, but the three (Peter, 
James, and John) were preeminent above the rest. And 
among these three again there was a great difference. 
For this is a very exact method observed by God even 
to the last. Hence, ^one star differeth from another 
star in glory' (I Cor. XV, 41), it says. And yet all 
were Apostles and all are to sit on twelve thrones, and 
all left their goods, and all companied with Him; still 
it was the three He took. And again, to these very three. 
He said it was possible that some might even be superior. 
Tor to sit,' He says, ^on My right hand and on My left, 
is not mine to give, save to those for whom it is pre- 
pared' (Mark X, 40). And He sets Peter before them, 
when He says, ^Lovest thou Me more than these?' (John 
XXI, 15)." (Homily XXXI, Ibid.) 

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel 
of Christ. But if this come to pass, he says, even though 
absent, I am able to rejoice. ^If,' that is, ^I hear that 



SAINT CHEYSOSTOM 139 

ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul/ This is what 
above all things unites believers, and maintains love un- 
broken, ^that they may be one' (John XVII, 11). For 
a ^kingdom divided against itself shall not stand' (Mark 
I III, 24). For this cause he everywhere counsels his 

disciples much to be of one mind. And Christ says, ^By 
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye 
love one another' (John XIII, 35)." (Homily IV on 
Philippians, v. 27.) 

We will conclude the quotations from St. Chrysostom 

with a striking passage from one of his latter Homilies. 

j It may be fairly said to show the mind of this Father on 

I the importance of Unity and its source, because of the 

I implied relation between Saint Peter and the other Apos- 

I ties, including Saint Paul, and subsequently the relations 

existing between the See of Peter and all other churches. 

j "For when their eating was ended, Jesus saith to Simon 

' Peter, ^Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than 

these?' He saith unto Him, ^Tea, Lord, Thou knowest 

that I love Thee.' 

I "He saith unto him, Teed My sheep.' 

"And why, having passed by the others, doth He speak 
j with Peter on these matters? He was the chosen one 

of the Apostles, the mouth of the disciples, the leader 
of the band; on this account also Paul went up upon 
a time to enquire of him rather than the others. And 
at the same time to show him that he must now be of 
good cheer, since the denial was done away, Jesus putteth 
into his hands the chief authority among the brethren; 
and He bringeth not forward the denial, nor reproacheth 
him with what had taken place, but saith, ^If thou lovest 
Me, preside over thy brethren, and the warm love which 
thou didst ever manifest, and in which thou didst rejoice, 
show thou now; and the life which thou saidst thou 
wouldest lay down for Me, now give for My sheep.' " 
(Homily LXXXVIII, "On St. John," Sec. 1.) 



140 UNITY AND ROME 

SOCRATES, THE CHURCH HISTORIAN 

SocrateSj a native of Constantinople, was born circa 
379 A.D., and died subsequent to 439 — the year with 
which his Ecclesiastical History ends^ — some time during 
the reign of the EmperoT Theodosius. He received a good 
education, was trained as an advocate or pleader, and 
continued to reside as a layman in his native city. He 
was induced by one Theodorus to continue the history 
of the Church from where Eusebius left off down to his 
own times. He appears on the whole to have been de- 
voted to the Orthodox Faith, but writes chiefly of the 
doings of the Eastern Church. His knowledge of the 
Western Church seems to have been limited. He does, 
however, show a desire to get at original sources and to 
write from the stand-point of a scientific historian. 

Elsewhere in the present volume references have been 
made to the great work of Eusebius. We do not, there- 
fore, give him place (which would be immediately pre- 
ceding Socrates) in this chronological list of the Fathers. 
We select two passages from the writings of Socrates 
as bearing on our present subject. The first refers to 
the assembling of a council of bishops of Arian sentiments 
at Antioch for the purpose of re-writing the Creed in ac- 
cordance with their views. 

^^There were present at this Synod ninety bishops from 
various cities. Maximus, however, bishop of Jerusalem, 
who had succeeded Macarius, did not attend, recollecting 
that he had been deceived and induced to subscribe the 
deposition of Athanasius. Neither was Julius, bishop of 
the great Rome, there, nor had he sent a substitute, al- 
though an ecclesiastical canon commands that the churches 
shall not make any ordinances against the opinion of the 
bishop of Rome.'' ("Ecclesiastical History," Book II, 
Chap. VIII.) 

"Athanasius, meanwhile, after a lengthened journey, 
at last reached Italy. ... At the same time also Paul, 



SAINT CHRYSOSTOM 141 

bishop of Constantinople, Asclepas of Gaza, Marcellus of 
Ancyra, a city of the Lesser Galatia, and Lucius of 
Adrianople, having been accused on various charges, and 
expelled from their several churches, arrived at the im- 
perial city. There each laid his case before Julius, bishop 
of Rome. He on his part, by virtue of the Church of 
Rome's peculiar privilege, sent them back again into the 
East, fortifying them with commendatory letters; and 
at the same time restored to each his own place, and 
sharply rebuked those by whom they had been deposed. 
Relying on the signature of the bishop Julius, the bishops 
departed from Rome, and again took possession of their 
own churches, forwarding the letters to the parties to 
whom they were addressed.'' (Ibid., Chap. XV.) 



CHAPTER VI 

SAINT ATHAISTASIUS 

ATI[A!N"ASIUS was born about 297, in or near Alex- 
andria probably, and his parents according to later 
writers were of high rank and wealthy. His education 
was liberal, so that as a young man he was able to quote 
Plato, Aristotle, Homer, and other classical authors. 
Fresh from the Alexandrine School (of which he was 
a distinguished pupil) he went as a young Deacon to 
the first General Council at Nicsea in 325, where he 
became the champion of the Catholic Faith against the 
Arians. He had a leading part in framing the Nicene 
Creed, insisting on homoousion "oi one substance'' against 
homoioiision "of like substance,'' as proposed by Arius 
and his followers. 

In 328 Athanasius was elected Bishop of Alexandria 
by a majority of the bishops of Egypt and Libya, having 
been practically nominated by his predecessor Alexander, 
and in answer to the general clamour of the people. Five 
times he was forced into exile by the machinations of the 
Arian party at court, but happily the last seven years 
of his long episcopate of forty-five years were passed in 
peace and honor. He died May 2, 373. 

Athanasius was a voluminous writer. The list of his 
works, even, is too long to mention in this place. His 
Contra Gentes, Apologia Contra Arianos, Commentaries, 
and Letters are perhaps the best known. Twice he visited 
Rome, staying a year and a half the first time, and nearly 
three years the second. The occasion of his coming was 
to lay his troubles in person before the Apostolic See. 
In the second of the above named works Athanasius has 

142 



SAINT ATHANASIUS 143 

incorporated verbatim the Letter of Pope Julius to the 
Eusebians and Arians generally. We fancy that the mod- 
eration, wisdom, and paternal sense of Apostolic authority 
displayed by the venerable Bishop of Rome would be a 
revelation to Protestants who resent so readily any claims 
of Papal Supremacy. 

^^Wherefore, as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ knows, it was from a regard for your good name, 
and with prayers that the Churches might not fall into 
confusion, but might continue as they were regulated by 
the Apostles, that I thought it necessary to write thus 
unto you. . . . And write not that I have preferred the 
communion of Marcellus and Athanasius to yours, for 
such like complaints are no indications of peace, but of 
contentiousness and hatred of the brethren. For this 
cause I have written the foregoing, that you may under- 
stand that we acted not unjustly in admitting them to our 
communion, and so may cease this strife. If you had 
come hither, and they had been condemned, and had ap- 
peared unable to produce reasonable evidence in support 
of their cause, you would have done well in writing thus. 
But seeing that, as I said before, we acted agreeably to 
the Canon, and not unjustly, in holding communion with 
them, I beseech you for the love of Christ, suffer not 
the members of Christ to be torn asunder, neither trust 
to prejudices, but seek rather the peace of the Lord. . . . 
And why was nothing said to us concerning the Church 
of the Alexandrians in particular ? Are you ignorant that 
the custom has been for word to be written first to us, 
and then for a just decision to be passed from this place ? 
If then any such suspicion rested upon the Bishop there, 
notice thereof ought to have been sent to the Church 
of this place ; whereas, after neglecting to inform us, and 
proceeding on their own authority as they pleased, now 
they desire to obtain our concurrence in their decisions, 
though we never condemned him (Athanasius). ISTot so 
have the constitutions of Paul, not so have the traditions 



144 UNITY AND EOME 

of the Fathers directed ; this is another form of procedure, 
a novel practice. I beseech you, readily bear with me: 
for what I write is for the common good. For what 
we have received from the blessed Apostle Peter, that I 
signify to you; and I should not have written this, as 
deeming that these things were manifest unto all men, 
had not these proceedings so disturbed us.'^ (Letter of 
Pope Julius in "Apologia Contra Arianos," Chap. II, 
Sec. 34, 35.) 

A little later in the same work he inserts entire the 
Letters of the Council of Sardica to the Churches of 
Egypt, and of Alexandria, and to all Churches. The fol- 
lowing passage is significant of the mind of the Bishops 
assembled at Sardica regarding the action taken by Pope 
Julius. 

"When they (the Arians) came to the city of Sardica, 
they were unwilling to meet the Council of all the holy 
Bishops. From this it became evident that the decision 
of our brother and fellow-bishop Julius was a just one; 
for after cautious deliberation and care he had decided, 
that we ought not to hesitate at all about communion with 
our brother Athanasius. For he had the credible testi- 
mony of eighty Bishops, and was also able to advance 
this fair argument in his support, that by the mere means 
of our dearly beloved brethren his own Presbyters, and 
by correspondence, he had defeated the designs of Eusebiu^ 
and his fellows, who relied more upon violence than upon 
a judicial enquiry.'^ 

When the Emperor Constantius sent a certain eunuch 
with letters and offerings to Pope Liberius, to cajole him 
with the presents, and to threaten him with the letters, 
into anathematizing Athanasius, the brave successor of 
St. Peter answered in part as follows: "How is it pos- 
sible for me to do this against Athanasius? How can 
we condemn a man, whom not one Council only, but a 
second assembled from all parts of the world, has fairly 
acquitted, and whom the Church of the Romans dismissed 



SAINT ATHANASIUS 145 

in peace ? Wlio will approve of our conduct, if we reject 
in his absence one, whose presence amongst us we gladly 
welcomed, and admitted him to our communion ? This is 
no Ecclesiastical Canon; nor have we had transmitted 
to us any such tradition from the Fathers, who in their 
turn received from the great and blessed Apostle Peter." 
(''History of the Arians,'' Part V, Sec. 36.) 

Hosius, the venerable senior of the Spanish episcopate, 
who had presided in the absence of the Pope at the 
Council of Nicaea, replied to the same imperial persecutor 
regarding this matter partly thus: ''With regard to the 
subject of your letters, this is my determination; I will 
not unite myseM to the Arians; I anathematize their 
heresy, l^either will I subscribe against Athanasius, 
whom both we and the Church of the Romans and the 
whole Council pronounced to be guiltless.'' (Ibid., Part 
VI, Sec. 44.) 

It is certainly a very significant characteristic of the 
life of the Church at this early period that emperors and 
bishops, even the highest, appealed to the Apostolic See. 
Socrates, the historian, referring to the Pope's insistence 
upon holding to Apostolic tradition, says, "Julius wrote 
back . . . that they acted against the Canons, because 
they had not called him to a Council, the ecclesiastical 
Canon commanding that the Churches ought not to make 
Canons beside the will of the Bishop of Eome." (Hist. 
II, 17.) Even Sozomen, Arian in sympathy though he 
was, uses language as follows: "for it was a sacerdotal 
law, to declare invalid whatever was transacted beside the 
will of the Bishop of the Romans." (Hist. Ill, 10.) 
The same thought is expressed in the Sermon of Pope Leo, 
"(Petri) in Sede sua vivit potestas et excellit auctoritas.'^ 
"The power of Peter lives in his Chair and his authority 
is supreme." (Leon. Serm. Ill, 3.) 



146 UNITY AND EOME 



SAINT JEKOME 



Jerome was born 345 A.D. at Striden near Aquileia 
of well-to-do Christian parents, but was not baptized until 
he was eighteen on the occasion of his first visit to Rome, 
where he studied rhetoric for three years. During the 
next four years (366-370) he traveled in Gaul with his 
wealthy friend Bonosus, employing his time also in study 
and writing. Keturning through Northern Italy he made 
the acquaintance of Eufinus. On reaching Aquileia he 
entered definitely upon the two great pursuits of his life, 
Scriptural study and the fostering of asceticism. From 
370 to 373 Jerome and his group of ascetic friends were 
practically monks, but there was no monastery and no 
Orders or Rules as yet. 

The next year 373 (the year of the death of Athanasius) 
Jerome went to the East, passing through Asia Minor 
to Antioch, where he remained a year or more. During 
the next five years (374-379) he lived with the hermits 
in the Desert of Chalcis east of Antioch. He learned 
Hebrew from a converted Jew, copied and translated the 
Gospel according to the Hebrews, and did much literary 
work amid his sack-cloth and ashes. His Western the- 
ology brought him into conflict with his Eastern fellow- 
hermits and he returned to Antioch in 379. Shortly after 
he was ordained presbyter by the Western Oi'thodox 
Bishop Paulinus, and accompanied the latter to Constanti- 
nople where he attended the second General Council. It 
was during his stay in the latter city that Jerome trans- 
lated the History of Eusebius from Greek into Latin, 
became the pupil of Gregory Nazianzen, made the ac- 
quaintance of Gregory of Nyssa, and translated the Hom- 
ilies of Origen on Jeremiah and Ezekiel. His intense lit- 
erary labors caused the weakness of his eyes from which 
he suffered during the rest of his life. 

From 382 to 385 we find Jerome at Rome, whither 
he had gone with his Bishop Paulinus. Here he became 



SAINT ATHANASIUS 147 

the friend and adviser of Pope Damasns, at whose request 
he undertook the work with which the name of Jerome 
will always be associated, the Latin Vulgate translation 
of the ISTew Testament — a revision and correction of the 
version which had been used throughout the Western 
Church from the earliest period. His satires on Roman 
life, his avowed sympathy with the views of Origen, 
brought Jerome into hostility with many of the clergy 
in Rome, and this was accentuated on the death of his 
friend Damasus, whose successor some thought Jerome 
was worthy to be. The new Pope Siricius was out of 
sympathy with the friend of his predecessor, and the 
result was that Jerome returned to the East, where he 
spent the last thirty-four years of his life at Bethlehem in 
monastic retirement but constantly engaged in writing 
and translation. Here he completed the Latin Vulgate 
of the Scriptures, Old and New, wrote Commentaries, 
numerous Letters, and engaged in the great theological 
controversies of his day. Jerome was fond of boasting 
that he was a Roman Christian, and always maintained 
that the Faith of the Church at Rome was the standard 
for the world. He died in the year 420. 

"I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and 
to turn to a Church whose faith has been praised by Paul. 
I appeal for spiritual food to the Church whence I have 
received the garb of Christ. . . .Yet, though your great- 
ness terrifies me, your kindness attracts me. From the 
priest I demand the safe-keeping of the victim, from the 
shepherd the protection due to the sheep. Away with all 
that is overweening; let the state of Roman majesty with- 
draw. My words are spoken to the successor of the fisher- 
man, to the disciple of the cross. As I follow no leader 
save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessed- 
ness, that is with the Chair of Peter. For this, I know, is 
the rock on which the Church is built! ... I implore 
your blessedness, therefore, ... to authorize me by let- 



148 UNITY ANB ROME 

ter either to use or to refuse this formula of three 
hypostases." (Letter XV, To Pope Damasus.) 

The following Letter of Pope Innocent shows the Papal 
attitude in Jerome's day. 

PROM POPE INNOCENT TO AURELIUS, BISHOP OF CARTHAGE 

"Innocent to his most esteemed friend and brother 
Aurelius. 

".Our fellow-presbyter Jerome has informed us of your 
most dutiful desire to come to see us. We suflfer with 
him as with a member of our own flock. We have been 
swift also to take such measures as have appeared to us 
expedient and practicable. As you count yourseK one of 
us, most dear brother, make haste to transmit the follow- 
ing Letter to the aforesaid Jerome.'^ (Letter CXXXV 
in Jerome.) 

"I will tell you my opinion briefly and without reserve. 
We ought to remain in that Church which was founded 
by the Apostles and continues to this day. If ever you 
hear of any that are called Christians taking their name 
not from the Lord Jesus Christ, but from some other, — 
you may be sure that you have there not the Church of 
Christ, but the synagogue of Antichrist. For the fact 
that they took their rise after the foundation of the 
Church is proof that they are those whose coming the 
Apostle foretold.'' (The Dialogue with the Luciferians, 
Section 28.) 

The following striking passage is taken from Jerome's 
Preface to the Vulgate Version of the New Testament, 
and is addressed to Pope Damasus at whose urgent solici- 
tation, as has been said, the work was undertaken. 

"Is there a man, learned or unlearned, who will not, 
when he takes the volume into his hands, and perceives 
that what he reads does not suit his settled tastes, break 
out immediately into violent language, and call me a 
forger and a profane person for having the audacity to 



SAINT ATHANASITJS 149 

add anything to the ancient books, or to make any changes 
or corrections therein? Now there are two consoling re- 
flections which enable me to bear the odium — in the first 
place, the command is given by you who are the supreme 
bishop; and secondly, even on the showing of those who 
revile us, readings at variance with the early copies can- 
not be right/^ 

Evidently Saint Jerome was something of a Papist ! 



CHAPTER VII 

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM 

CYRIL was born in or near Jerusalem about 315 A.D. 
He was consecrated Bishop of Jerusalem in 351, and 
continued to exercise his sacred office until his death in 
386. His definition of the Catholic Church deserves to 
be read of all men. 

"It is called Catholic then because it extends over all 
the world, from one end of the earth to the other; and 
because it teaches universally and completely one and all 
the doctrines which ought to come to men's knowledge, 
concerning things both visible and invisible, heavenly and 
earthly; and because it brings into subjection to godliness 
the whole race^ of mankind, governors and governed, 
learned and unlearned; and because it universally treats 
and heals the whole class of sins, which are committed 
by soul or body, and possesses in itself every form of 
virtue which is named, both in deeds and words, and in 
every kind of spiritual gifts.'' (Catechetical Lectures, 
XVIII, Sec. 23.) 

SAINT GREGORY IsTAZLA^NZElSr 

Gregory was bom about 325 A.D. near Nazianzus in 
Cappadocia, of which place his father Gregory the elder 
was bishop. In 361 Gregory, much against his will, was 
ordained to the priesthood by his father, and gave valu- 
able assistance to the aged bishop at Nazianzus. He 
travelled and studied in Egypt and Athens, gradually 
attaining fame as a theologian. When his friend Saint 
Basil became Metropolitan of Csesarea, the new arch- 

150 



CYEIL OF JERUSALEM 151 

bishop in order to strengthen his own hands consecrated 
Gregory to be bishop of Sasima, a miserable little village, 
in the province of Csesarea. This action alienated 
Gregory and he went home to IsTazianzus to assist his 
father, acting as bishop-coadjutor. Gregory's reputation 
as a theologian grew and he was called to Constantinople 
— first as temporary administrator, and then formally con- 
secrated Archbishop of the imperial city. After the death 
of Meletius of Antioch, who presided at the opening of 
the Council of Constantinople, Gregory was president 
during all the remaining sessions. His simplicity of life 
and gentleness made him unpopular among certain classes 
at Constantinople, and he withdrew from the archbishop- 
ric, after pronouncing a magnificent oration reviewing 
his work in the metropolis. He retired to Nazianzus, de- 
voting himself to literary and theological pursuits. He 
died in 391, and the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 
431 gave him the title, "The Great." 

We quote a single passage from the distinguished Fa- 
ther — one, however, which shows how clearly he thought 
on the subject of Catholic Unity. "For unity in doctrine 
deserves unity in office ; and a rival teacher sets up a rival 
throne; the one is a successor in reality, the other but in 
name. For it is not the intruder, but he whose rights are 
intruded upon, who is the successor, not the lawbreaker, 
but the lawfully appointed, not the man of contrary 
opinions, but the man of the same faith; if this is not 
what we mean by successor, he succeeds in the same sense 
as disease to health, darkness to light, storm to calm, 
and frenzy to sound sense.'' (Oration on the Great 
Athanasius, Sec. 8.) 

SAINT BASIL 

Basil was born about 330 A.D., probably at Csesarea 
in Cappadocia, of Christian parents of good social posi- 
tion and some means. He received "an excellent educa- 



152 UNITY AND ROME 

tion, and visited Constantinople, Athens, Alexandria, 
Palestine, and other points in Asia. He passed through 
the lower ranks of the ministry, and was consecrated 
Bishop of the metropolitical See of Csesarea in 370. While 
yet a Deacon he wrote his ^^Moralia,^^ and as Presbyter 
and Bishop he continued his writings, and attained re- 
pute as a theologian and canonist. Basil appears to have 
been somewhat arbitrary from the tone of some of his 
works and from his refusal to allow his brother Gregory 
of Nyssa to visit Rome in a representative capacity, also, 
from his assignment of his friend Gregory N^azianzen to 
the obscure Diocese of Sasima, after practically forcing 
him into the episcopate. He was broken in health, and 
suffered greatly from the heresies and church disorders of 
his time, dying Jan. 1, 379. 

It is not clear from the writings of Basil just what his 
attitude towards the Apostolic See was. From his Letter 
to Pope Damasus the reader can draw his own conclu- 
sions. The occasion of his appeal was the troubles caused 
by the Arian heresy. 

"I have looked upon the visit of your mercifulness as 
the only possible solution of our difficulties. Ever in the 
past I have been consoled by your extraordinary affection ; 
and for a short time my heart was cheered by the gratify- 
ing report that we shall be visited by you. But, as I was 
disappointed, I have been constrained to beseech you by 
letter to be moved to help us, and to send some of those, 
who are like minded with us, either to conciliate the dis- 
sentient and bring back the Churches of God into friendly 
union, or at all events to make you see more plainly who 
are responsible for the unsettled state in which we are, 
that it may be obvious to you for the future with whom 
it befits you to be in communion. In this I am by no 
means making any novel request, but am only asking 
what has been customary in the case of men who, before 
our own day, were blessed and dear to God, and conspicu- 
ously in your own case. For I well remember learning 



CYRIL OF JEEtrSALEM 153 

from the answers made by our fathers when asked, and 
from documents still preserved among us, that the illus- 
trious and blessed bishop Dionysius, conspicuous in your 
See as well for soundness of faith as for all other virtues, 
visited by letter my Church of Csesarea, and by letter 
exhorted our fathers, and sent men to ransom our brethren 
from captivity. But now our condition is yet more pain- 
ful and gloomy and needs more careful treatment. We 
are lamenting no mere overthrow of earthly buildings, but 
the capture of the Churches ; what we see before us is no 
mere bodily slavery, but a carrying away of souls into 
captivity, perpetrated day by day by the champions of 
heresy. Should you not, even now, be moved to succor us, 
ere long all will have fallen under the dominion of the 
heresy, and you will find none left to whom you may hold 
out your hand.'' (^'Letters of Basil," Letter LXX.) 

"One thing I do wonder at in them that . . . quite for- 
getful that their written confession of the Nicene Creed 
is preserved at Rome, and that they with their own hand 
delivered to the council at Tyana the document brought 
from Rome which is in my hands, and contains the same 
creed . . . and so bethought them of the defense for that 
error, that they should go to Rome and there accept the 
creed of the Fathers, that so they might make amends, for 
the mischief they had done the Church by their agreement 
in evil, by their introduction of something better. Now 
the very men who undertook long journeys for the faith's 
sake, and made all these fine speeches, are reviling me 
for walking craftily, and for playing the plotter under the 
cloke of love." (Letter CCXLIV, To Patrophilus, Bishop 
of Aege.) 

THEODOEET 

Theodoret was bom at Antioch probably in 393 A.D., 
and because his birth was an answer to prayer he received 
the name "Given by God." Like little Samuel of old he 
was devoted to the divine service. Upon the death of his 



154 UINriTY AND EOME 

parents Theodoret distributed the property inherited from 
them and retired to a monastery at Nicerte at the age of 
twenty-three. Here he spent seven happy years until in 
423 he was consecrated against his will Bishop of Cyrus 
in Syria, which place he greatly adorned from the rev- 
enues of his See. Theodoret proved himself a faithful 
bishop as well as a prolific writer. Besides his theological 
works and Letters he wrote an Ecclesiastical History, 
covering the period from Eusebius down to his own time. 
He was a warm personal friend of Nestorius, and fell 
under the suspicion of sharing his friend's views. Accord- 
ingly the sixth council of Ephesus (the robber council) 
in 449 deprived him and other bishops of their Sees, and 
previously the Emperor Theodosius had issued an edict 
confining Theodoret within the limits of his own diocese 
as a vexatious and turbulent busybody. 

Pope Leo at Rome believed in his orthodoxy and had 
a great respect for his theological attainments. The Gen- 
eral Council of Chalcedon in 451 vindicated Theodoret 
after wringing from him an apparently reluctant anathema 
of his friend ^STestorius. Between Chalcedon and his 
death, probably in 459, it is uncertain whether Theodoret 
resumed charge of his diocese or lived in retirement. 
Some of his best literary work was done in these years. 
Much has been made by Catholic authors of his appeal to 
Pope Leo. There are some striking passages in the writ- 
ings of Theodoret referring to the Apostolic See, of which 
some slight quotation is made. 

"If Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the 
Holy Ghost, hastened to the great Peter in order that he 
might carry from him the desired solution of difficulties 
to those at Antioch who were in doubt about living in con- 
formity with the law, much more do we, men insignificant 
and small, hasten to your Apostolic See in order to receive 
from you a cure for the wounds of the churches. . . . 
But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech 
and implore your holiness to succor me in my appeal to 



CYEIL OF JERUSALEM 155 

your fair and righteous tribunal. Bid me hasten to you, 
and prove to you that my teaching follows the footprints 
of the Apostles. . . . Above all, I implore you to tell me 
whether I ought to put up with this unrighteous deposition 
or not ; for I await your decision. If you bid me abide 
by the sentence of condemnation, I abide; and henceforth 
I will trouble no man. . . ." (Letter CXIII, To Leo, 
bishop of Rome.) 

^'He (the Emperor) summoned him to Constantinople, 
and ordered him to repair to Rome. Flavianus, however, 
urged in reply that it was now winter, and promised to 
obey the command in spring. He then returned home. 
But when the bishops of Rome, not only the admirable 
Damasus, but also Siricius his successor and Anastasius 
the successor of Siricius, importuned the emperor more 
vehemently and represented that, while he put down the 
rivals against his own authority, he suffered bold rebels 
against the laws of Christ to maintain their usurped au- 
thority, then he sent for him again and tried to force him 
to undertake the journey to Rome. . . . When Flavianus 
had been informed of this decision (of the emperor) he 
dispatched to Rome certain worthy bishops with pres- 
byters and deacons of Antioch, giving the chief authority 
among them to Acacius bishop of Beroca, who was famous 
throughout the world.'' (^^Ecclesiastical History,'' Chap. 
XXIIL) 



CHAPTER VIII 

ST. HILARY OF POITIERS 

HILAEY was probably bom about 300 A.D. in the 
city of which he afterward became bishop. He 
learned his theology from Eastern sources, and was 
strongly influenced by Origen. He has not been read as 
much as he deserves. Athanasius in his voluminous writ- 
ings does not mention Hilary, and Jerome criticizes him 
for his involved style. His two great successors among 
the Western Fathers were St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. 
About the year 350 Hilary was consecrated Bishop of 
Poitiers in Gaul, but was forced into exile in 356 by his 
Arian opponents, Auxentius Bp. of Milan and Saturninus 
Bp. of Aries, and the emperor in sympathy with them. 
He returned to his diocese in 361, and had the satisfac- 
tion before his death in 367 of seeing Auxentius con- 
demned and deposed. 

Hilary was the firm friend of St. Martin of Tours and 
gave him the site on which his first monastery was built. 
The extracts given below are from Hilary's greatest work, 
On The Trinity. 

^^And blessed Simon, who after his confession of the 
mystery was set to be the foundation-stone of the Church, 
and received the keys of the kingdom of heaven. . . .'' 
(De Trinitate, Book VI, Sec. 20.) 

"Yes; you may have a change of faith, if the keys of 
heaven are changed. You may have a change of faith, if 
there is a change in that Church against which the gates 
of hell shall not prevail. You may have a change of 
faith, if there shall be a fresh Apostolate, binding and 
loosing in heaven what it has bound and loosed on earth. 
You may have a change of faith, if another Christ the 

156 



ST. HILARY OF POITIEES 157 

Son of God, beside the true Christ, shall be preached. 
But if that faith which confesses Christ as the Son of 
God, and that faith only, received in Peter's person every 
accumulated blessing, then perforce the faith which pro- 
claims Him a creature, made out of nothing, holds not 
the keys of the Church and is a stranger to the Apostolic 
faith and power. It is neither the Church's faith, nor 
is it Christ's." (Ibid., Book VI, Sec. 38.) 

"It is the peculiar property of the Church that when 
she is buffeted she is triumphant, when she is assaulted 
with argument she proves herself in the right, when she 
is deserted by her supporters she holds the field. . . . 
The Church, ordained by the Lord and established by His 
Apostles, is one for all ; but the frantic folly of discordant 
sects has severed them from her. And it is obvious that 
these dissensions concerning the faith result from a dis- 
torted mind, which twists the words of Scripture into con- 
formity with its opinion, instead of adjusting that opinion 
to the words of Scripture." (Ibid., Book VII, Sec. 4.) 

How appropriately the language of St. Hilary, written 
in the fourth century, might be applied to the sixteenth 
century and to the resulting sects in our own day! 

SAINT AMBEOSE 

Ambrose was born in 340 A.D., probably at Treves, and 
was taken by his mother to live at Rome about 354, the 
year in which St. Augustine was born. He had attained 
success as an advocate when in 374, while yet only a 
catechumen, by the acclamation of the people he was 
elected Bishop of Milan in succession to the Arian 
Auxentius. Three years later he began the weighty series 
of theological writings, which give him rank as one of 
the great Doctors of the Church. He presided over a 
council of Italian bishops in 381-2, and it fell to his lot 
to baptize St. Augustine in 387. The Emperor Theo- 
dosius died at Milan in 395, and Ambrose pronounced 



158 UNITY AND EOME 

the funeral oration. Two years later, shortly after con- 
secrating a bishop for Ticinum and while engaged in 
writing the Enarratie on Psalm 43, which he left un- 
finished, Ambrose passed away. 

Ambrose was ever the champion of the Catholic Church, 
and held it to be the only depository of Apostolic faith, 
as his works testify. 

^^But he was not so eager as to lay aside caution. He 
called the bishop to him, and esteeming that there can be 
no true thankfulness except it spring from true faith, he 
enquired whether he agreed with the Catholic bishops, 
that is, with the Eoman Church?'' (^^On the Decease of 
his Brother Satyrus," Book I, Sec. 47.) 

"Moreover, that thou mayest know that it is after His 
Manhood that He entreats, and in virtue of His Godhead 
that He commands, it is written for thee in the Gospel 
that He said to Peter: 'I have prayed for thee, that thy 
faith fail not.' To the same Apostle, again, when on a 
former occasion he said, ^Thou art the Christ, the Son 
of the living God,' He made answer: Thou art Peter, 
and upon this Eock will I build My Church, and I will 
give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.' Could 
He not, then, strengthen the faith of the man to whom, 
acting on His own authority, He gave the kingdom, whom 
He called the Rock, thereby declaring him to be the foun- 
dation of the Church?" ("Of The Christian Faith," 
Book IV, Sec. 57.) 

"Thou saidst to Peter when he excused himself from 
having his feet washed by Thee : ^If I wash not thy feet, 
thou wilt have no part with Me.' What fellowship, then, 
can they have with Thee, who receive not the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, saying that they ought not to remit 
sins? 

And this confession is indeed rightly made by them, 
for they have not the succession of Peter, who hold not 
the chair of Peter, which they rend by wicked schism; 
and this, too, they do, wickedly denying that sins can be 



ST. HILAEY OF POITIEES 159 

forgiven even in the Church, whereas it was said to Peter ; 
^I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, 
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound 
in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall 
be loosed in heaven.' " (^^Concerning Eepentanee/' Book 
I, Chap. VII, Sees. 32, 33.) 

SULPITIUS SEVERUS 

Sulpitius Severus was bom in Aquitania about 363 
A.D. He had already attained success in the law, when 
following the death of his young wife he resolved to de- 
vote himself to the religious life. Becoming a pres- 
byter about 393, he thereafter attached himself to St. 
Martin of Tours. Both St. Jerome and St. Augustine, 
with whom he was contemporary, refer to him in respect- 
ful terms, and he was spoken of as "the Christian Sal- 
lust," because of the purity of his Latinity. The name 
of Sulpitius will always be associated with his Life of St. 
Martin of Tours, which was widely read in the East and 
West. His Sacred History is also not without value. 
Sulpitius died about 420. 

He refers in the last-named work to the visit of some 
Spanish Gnostics (condemned at the Synod of Saragossa) 
to Pope Damasus at Rome. 

"And then Instantius, Salvianus, and Priscillian set 
out for Rome, in order that before Damasus, who was 
at that time bishop of the city, they might clear them- 
selves of the charges brought against them . . . when 
they reached Rome with the wish of clearing themselves 
before Damasus, they were not even admitted to his 
presence.'' ("Sacred History,'' Chap. XL VIII.) 

viisrcEisrT of leeiists 

Gennadius of Marseilles, who flourished 495 A.D., 
ascribes to Vicentius, an inmate of the famous monastery 



160 UNITY AND EOMB 

of Lerins on the island of the same name, the authorship 
of the well-known Oommonitory written in 435. The 
statement of Gennadius has been universally accepted. 
According to him Vincentius died previous to 450, the 
date of the death of the Emperor Theodosius. The object 
of the Commonitory is to provide a general rule to dis- 
tinguish Catholic truth from heresy. One famous sen- 
tence at least will always keep the Commonitory alive, 
"Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus,'' "What 
everywhere, what always, what by all" was believed is the 
Catholic Faith. Vincentius lays down one great principle 
— the authority of the Scriptures as interpreted by the 
Tradition of the Catholic Church. 

"Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible 
care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been 
believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and 
in the strictest sense ^Catholic,' which, as the name 
itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends 
all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow 
universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow uni- 
versality if we confess that one faith to be true, which 
the whole Church throughout the world confesses; an- 
tiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations 
which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy 
ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in an- 
tiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and 
determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests 
and doctors.'' ("Commonitory," Chap. II, Sec. 6.) 

"Examples there are without number, but to be brief, 
we will take one, and that, in preference to others, from 
the Apostolic See, so that it may be clearer than day to 
every one with how great energy, with how great zeal, 
with how great earnestness, the blessed successors of the 
blessed Apostles have constantly defended the integrity of 
the religion which they have once received. 

Once on a time then, Agrippinus, bishop of Carthage, 
of venerable memory, held the doctrine — and he was the 



ST. HILARY OF POITIEES 161 

first who held it — that Baptism ought to be repeated, 
contrary to the divine canon, contrary to the customs and 
institutions of our ancestors. . . . Pope Stephen of 
blessed memory, Prelate of the Apostolic See, in conjunc- 
tion indeed with his colleagues but yet himself the fore- 
most, withstood it, thinking it right, I doubt not, that as 
he exceeded all others in the authority of his place, so he 
should also in the devotion of his faith. In fine, in an 
epistle sent at that time to Africa, he laid down this rule : 
^Let there be no innovation — nothing but what has been 
handed down.' '' (Ibid., Chap. VI, Sec. 15, 16.) 

Vincentius, after relating the constancy of the Fathers 
at the Council of Ephesus in banishing novelty and 
maintaining antiquity, recounts the zeal of the Bishops 
of Rome in the matter of Nestorius. 

The foregoing would be enough and very much more 
than enough to crush and annihilate every profane nov- 
elty. But yet that nothing might be wanting to such 
completeness of proof, we added, at the close, the twofold 
authority of the Apostolic See, first, that of holy Pope 
Sixtus, the venerable prelate who now adorns the Roman 
Church ; and secondly that of his predecessor. Pope Celes- 
tine of blessed memory, which same we think it necessary 
to insert here also. 

Holy Pope Sixtus then says in an Epistle which he 
wrote on ISTestorius's matter to the bishop of Antioch, 
^^Therefore, because, as the Apostle says, the faith is one, 
— evidently the faith which has obtained hitherto, — let us 
believe the things that are to be said, and say the things 
that are to be held.'' What are the things that are to 
be believed and to be said ? He goes on : ^^Let no license 
be allowed to novelty, because it is not fit that any addi- 
tion should be made to antiquity. Let not the clear faith 
and belief of our forefathers be fouled by any muddy 
admixture. ..." 

^^Holy Pope Celestine also expresses himself in like 
manner and to the same effect. For in the Epistle which 



162 UNITY AND ROME 

he wrote to the priests of Gaul, charging them with con- 
nivance with error, in that by their silence they failed 
in their duty to the ancient faith, and allowed profane 
novelties to spring up, he says: ^We are deservedly to 
blame if we encourage error by silence. Therefore re- 
buke these people. Restrain their liberty of preaching.' '' 
(Ibid., Chap. XXXII, Sec. 84, 85.) 

JOHN CASSIAN 

The date of birth and nationality of Cassianus, as he 
was often called are uncertain. Perhaps it was 360, and 
his country Gaul. He studied in Bethlehem and Egypt, 
was ordained Deacon by St. John Chrysostom, and Priest 
by Pope Innocent I. Some years afterward Pope Leo 
the Great requested him to write his work on the In- 
carnation against Nestorius. Both in Egypt and Pales- 
tine Cassianus had been a monk, and after leaving Rome 
to take up his abode in Marseilles it is said that he de- 
serves the credit of being the first organizer and systema- 
tizer of Western monachism. At Marseilles Cassianus 
wrote his three great works, — the Institutes, the Con- 
ferences, and On the Incarnation. The general estimation 
in which his writings were held is shown by the numer- 
ous MSS. and translations which are still scattered 
throughout the libraries of Europe. Even St. Benedict 
enjoined that his Conferences should be read daily by the 
monks of his order. Cassianus died probably in 432 
at an advanced age, but his last years were clouded by 
the heresies of Nestorius and Pelagius. 

"But if you prefer the authority of a greater person 
(...) let us interrogate no beginner or untaught school- 
boy, nor a woman whose faith might perhaps appear to 
be rudimentary; but that greatest of disciples among dis- 
ciples, and of teachers among teachers, who presided and 
ruled over the Roman Church and held the chief place 
in the priesthood as he did in the faith. Tell us then, 
tell us, we pray, O Peter, thou chief of Apostles, tell 



ST. HILARY OF POITIERS 163 

US how the Churches ought to believe in God. For it is 
right that you should teach us, as you were taught by 
the Lordj and that you should open to us the gate, of 
which you received the key." ("On the Incarnation," 
Book III, Chap. XII.) 



CHAPTER IX 

SAIIS^T LEO THE GREAT 

ED was born about 395 A.D., possibly at VolaterrsB 
in Etruria. Little is known about liis early life. 
His education was limited to Latin and Christian culture, 
as he admits his ignorance of Greek. He was the first 
great Latin-speaking Pope, as he was also the first great 
Italian theologian. His was a master mind and will, and 
it fell to his lot to be the final defender of our Lord's 
Person against Nestorius and Eutyches. Leo lived in 
a period of transition when the Roman Empire was at a 
low ebb intellectually and politically. I^either in Church 
nor State was to be found an equally commanding figure, 
which explains, at least in part, the tremendous influence 
he exerted. 

Under Pope Celestine (422-432) he was archdeacon 
of Rome. Cassian speaks of him as ^^the ornament of 
the Roman Church and of the Divine ministry." St. 
Cyril in 431 entreated his aid with the Pope in his trouble 
with the ambitious Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem. Tinder 
Pope Sixtus (432-440) he was the watchful adviser of 
the Apostolic See against Pelagian heretics. On the death 
of Sixtus while Leo was absent from Rome on a political 
mission, he was elected by the acclamations of clergy and 
people, and on Sept. 29th was ordained both priest and 
47th bishop of Rome. From the first year of his epis- 
copate he showed clearly his conception of the authority 
over the whole of Christendom invested in him as the 
successor of St. Peter. He reproved bishops who were 
lax in dealing with Pelagianism, and in his famous en- 
counter with Hilary of Aries, who had deposed Celidonius, 

164 



SAINT liBO THE GREAT 165 

a bishop of his province, Leo both restored Celidonius 
and deprived Hilary of all his metropolitical rights in 
the province of Vienne. 

Tt was in the famous Eutychian controversy that Leo 
the Great won the lasting gratitude of the Church in 
settling for all time the complete definition of the funda- 
mental doctrine of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. This he did in what is known as ^The Tome 
of Leo/^ whfch later was enthusiastically received at the 
General Council of Chalcedon in 451 with the cry, ^^Peter 
has spoken by Leo.'' In this Council Paschasinus, a 
bishop of Sicily, was the representative of Leo and 
presided. 

As Leo had been elected Pope while absent from Rome 
on a mission of mediation between two rival generals, 
so again he was the mediator on two memorable occasions, 
— with Attila the Hun in 452, and with Genseric the 
Vandal in 455. He was completely successful in turning 
back Attila and his horde, but with Genseric his with- 
drawal took place only after Rome had undergone a pillage 
of fourteen days. 

Leo died late in 461 after a rule of twenty-one years, 
and his latest letters witness to the joy and satisfaction 
he experienced in his work for Christ and His Church. 
He built, renovated, and adorned many churches, and his 
sermons have been characterized as "singularly Christian," 
invariably presenting Christ as the one Saviour and Re- 
deemer of the world. 

Among the writings ascribed to Leo the Great, only 
his Letters and Sermons are certainly regarded as authen- 
tic. Even the well-known "Sacramentary of Saint Leo" 
is included among the doiibtful works. Our quotations, 
therefore, are taken from the writings of undoubted 
authenticity. With reference to bishops who have been 
careless respecting clergy tainted with Pelagianism, he 
writes in part as follows : 

"Let them by their public confession condemn the 



166 UNITY AND ROME 

authors of this presumptuous error and renounce all that 
the universal Church has repudiated in their doctrine; 
and let them announce by full and open statements, 
signed by their own hand, that they embrace and entirely 
approve of all the synodal decrees which the authority 
of the Apostolic See has ratified to the rooting out of 
this heresy." (Letter I, To the Bishop of Aquileia.) 

The assertion of the rights of the Apostolic See over 
Metropolitan Bishops is seen in the following : 

^^Now therefore, dear brother, that your request has 
been made known to us through our son IsTicolaus the 
priest, that you, too, like your predecessors, might re- 
ceive from us in our turn authority over lUyricum for 
the observance of the rules, we give our consent and ear- 
nestly exhort that no concealment and no negligence may 
be allowed in the management of the churches situated 
throughout lUyricum, which we commit to you in our 
stead, following the precedent of Siricius of blessed mem- 
ory, who then, for the first time, acting on a fixed method, 
entrusted them to your last predecessor but one, Anysius 
of holy memory, who had at the time well deserved of 
the Apostolic See, and was approved by after events: 
that he might render assistance to the churches situated 
in that province whom he wished kept up to discipline.'^ 
(Letter VI, To Anastasius, Bishop of Thessalonica.) 

When the Council of Chalcedon, in compliment to the 
Emperor, passed a canon giving Constantinople, as "new 
Rome," the second place in honor after the Apostolic See, 
and in so doing robbing Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusa- 
lem of their ancient precedence, Leo wrote to the Em- 
peror. A part of the letter ran as follows: 

"Let the city of Constantinople have, as we desire, its 
high rank, and under the protection of God's right hand, 
long enjoy your clemency's rule. Yet things secular stand 
on a different basis from things divine: and there can 
be no sure building save on that rock which the Lord has 
laid for a foundation. He that covets what is not his 



SAINT LEO THE GREAT 167 

due, loses what is his own. Let it be enough for Ana- 
tolius that by the aid of your piety and by my favor 
and approval he has obtained the bishopric of so great 
a city. Let him not disdain a city which is royal, though 
he cannot make it an Apostolic See; and let him on no 
account hope that he can rise by doing injury to others. 
For the privileges of the churches determined by the 
canons of the holy Fathers, and fixed by the decrees of 
the l^icene Synod, cannot be overthrown by any un- 
scrupulous act, nor be disturbed by any innovation. And 
in the faithful execution of this task by the aid of Christ 
I am bound to display an unflinching devotion ; for it is a 
charge entrusted to me, and it tends to my condemnation 
if the rules sanctioned by the Fathers and drawn up 
under the guidance of God's Spirit at the Synod of 
l^icsea for the government of the whole Church are vio- 
lated with my connivance (which God forbid), and if 
the wishes of a single brother have more weight with me 
than the common good of the Lord's whole house." (Let- 
ter CIV, To the Emperor Marcian Augustus, Sec. III.) 

One passage out of many from the famous Sermons 
of St. Leo the Great is quoted. It will suffice to show 
how the Bishop of Rome regarded the responsibilities of 
his sacred office even at that early date (441). 

^^And so, dearly beloved, with reasonable obedience 
we celebrate to-day's festival by such methods, that in 
my humble person he (St. Peter) may be recognized and 
honored, in whom abides the care of all the shepherds, 
together with the charge of the sheep commended to him, 
and whose dignity is not abated even in so unworthy 
an heir. And hence the presence of my venerable brothers 
and fellow-priests, so much desired and valued by me, 
will be the more sacred and precious, if they will transfer 
the chief honor of this service in which they have deigned 
to take part to him whom they know to be not only the 
patron of this See, but also the primate of all bishops. 
When therefore we utter our exhortations in your ears, 



168 UNITY AND ROME 

holy brethren, believe that he is speaking whose repre- 
sentative we are/' (Sermon III, Delivered on the Anni- 
versary of his Elevation to the Pontificate.) 

SAINT GREGOEY THE GREAT 

Gregory was born about 540, ten years after Benedict 
of ISTursia founded the Benedictine order. His father 
Gordianus was a wealthy Roman of senatorial rank. 
Gregory's education was that of a Roman gentleman, and 
as Greek culture had fallen into abeyance at Rome, he 
had no knowledge of that language. He was religiously 
brought up, and on the death of his father he divided 
his patrimony among different charities, especially in 
founding monasteries, six in Sicily and one in Rome on 
the Cselian hill, dedicated to St. Andrew, which he en- 
tered as a monk. 

It was while Gregory was an inmate of this monastery 
that he saw in the Roman slave^market the fair-haired 
children of the Angles, compared them with angels, and 
resolved to go to Britain as a missionary to convert these 
heathen people. He had already set out when the people 
of Rome besought the Pope to keep him in Rome where 
he was so much needed. Later as Pope he sent Augustine 
and a band of missionaries to convert the English, and 
appointed Augustine as the first Archbishop of Canter- 
bury. 

While Gregory was living in the world the Emperor 
had recognized his ability by appointing him City Prsetor, 
and so we find Pope Benedict I summoning him from 
the monastery and ordaining him one of the seven Deacons 
of Rome. The next Pope Pelagius II sent him to Con- 
stantinople as his representative at the imperial court 
from 578 to 585. On his return he reentered his be- 
loved monastery and was elected abbot. These five years 
he describes as the happiest in his life. 

On the 8th of February, 590, Gregory by the acclama- 



SAINT LEO THE GREAT 169 

tions of clergy and people was elected Pope in succession 
to Pelagius, who had fallen a victim to the epidemic. 
In his great position he lived as far as possible the ascetic 
life of a monk. Gregory proved himself a wise adminis- 
trator of the papal patrimony in Sicily, Italy, Gaul, and 
Dalmatia, as well as a great ecclesiastic and Doctor of 
the Church. He was free from the controversies of Nes- 
torianism and Pelagianism, which had engaged his pred- 
ecessors, but the condemnation of the Three Chapters, to 
which under pressure he and several preceding Popes 
had subscribed, gave him considerable anxiety. 

At this period there was no Emperor in the West, and 
the Exarch at Ravenna had little influence outside of 
his immediate territory. Gregory, therefore, as Bishop 
of Rome, fortified by his remarkable ability and lofty 
character, became the acknowledged leader not only in 
the Church, his proper sphere, but in the State as well. 
He more than any other man kept the Arian Lombards 
from overrunning the whole of Italy. 

After a glorious reign of fourteen years, in which he 
ever upheld the rights of the Apostolic See and of him- 
self as the successor of St. Peter, Gregory entered into life 
eternal on the 12th of March, 604. He was ever a 
devout student of Holy Scripture, of which he possessed a 
wide and intimate knowledge, through the Latin version 
only. 

The following extracts from his works show that Greg- 
ory in his relations with bishops and in ecclesiastical 
matters generally followed what he understood to be the 
recognized and traditional course of his predecessors in 
the See of Peter. 

^'We execute more efficiently our heavenly commission, 
if we share our burdens with our brethren. For this 
cause we appoint thee, our most reverend brother and 
fellow-bishop, to have administration over all the churches 
of Sicily in the name of the Apostolical See, so that 
whosoever there is reckoned as being in a condition of 



170 UNITY AND ROME 

religion may by our authority be subject to thy Fraternity, 
to the end that it may not hereafter be necessary for 
them to make such long sea-voyages in resorting to us 
for slight causes. But if by any chance there are matters 
of difficulty which can by no means be settled by the 
judgment of thy Fraternity, in these only let our judgment 
be solicited, that so we may occupy ourselves more effi- 
caciously in greater causes, being relieved from the least. 
And be it understood that we give this delegation of 
authority, not to thy place, but to thy person, because 
we have learnt from thy past life what we may presume 
of thee in thy future conduct.'^ (Epistle VII, To Max- 
imianus, Bishop of Syracuse.) 

The bestowal upon the See of Constantinople of the 
second rank in honor after Rome by the Easterns in 
General Council and the confirmation of this new title 
at Chalcedon was a sore point with the Bishop of Rome, 
It was done against his authority by Eastern Bishops, 
who desired to compliment the Emperor through his new 
imperial city, thereby winning favor for themselves, and 
for the added reason of jealousy of the preeminent dig- 
nity of the West. Gregory, however, wrote in the plainest 
terms to the Archbishop of Constantinople, who further 
presumed to style himself "universal bishop.'^ The Letter 
is too long to quote in full. 

"And indeed with regard to this matter, weighty letters 
were addressed to your Holiness by my predecessor Pe- 
lagius of holy memory; in which he annulled the acts of 
the synod, which had been assembled among you in the 
case of our once brother and fellow-bishop, Gregory, be- 
cause of that execrable title of pride, and forbade the 
archdeacon, whom he had sent according to custom to 
the threshold of our lord (the emperor) to celebrate the 
solemnities of mass with you. But after his death, when 
I, unworthy, succeeded to the government of the Church, 
both through my other representatives and also through 
our common son the deacon Sabinianus, I have taken 



SAINT LEO THE GREAT 171 

care to address your Fratemityj not indeed in writing, 
but by word of mouth, desiring you to restrain yourself 
from such presumption. And, in case of your refusing 
to amend, I forbade his celebrating the solemnities of 
mass with you ; that so I might first appeal to your Holi- 
ness through a certain sense of shame, to the end that, if 
the execrable and profane assumption could not be cor- 
rected through shame, strict canonical measures might 
then be resorted to." (Epistle XVIII, To John, Bishop 
of Constantinople.) 

To-day in the Roman Church an Archbishop cannot ex- 
ercise jurisdiction, after his appointment has been an- 
nounced and his consecration has taken place, until he has 
received the pallium from the Pope. It is illuminating 
to read of Gregory away back in the sixth century con- 
ferring this archepiscopal vestment and badge of author- 
ity, — an authority, by the way, considered as delegated 
from the Pope. 

"The letter of your Excellency has made us exceedingly 
glad, testifying as it does that you are careful, with pious 
affection, of the honor and reverence due to priests. For 
you thus show to all that you are faithful worshipers of 
God, while you love His priests with the acceptable ven- 
eration that is due to them, and hasten with Christian 
devotion to do whatever may advance their position. 
Whence also we have received with pleasure what you have 
written, and grant what you desire with willing mind; 
and accordingly we have committed, with the favor of 
God, our vicariate jurisdiction to our brother Virgilius, 
bishop of the city of Arlate (Aries), according to ancient 
custom and your Excellency's desire; and have also 
granted him the use of the pallium, as has been the 
custom of old.'^ (Epistle LV, To Childebert, King of the 
Franks.) 

The following extract is from an Epistle of Gregory's, 
notifying the bishops of the province of Epirus that the 
Apostolic See has bestowed upon their metropolitan the 



172 UNITY AND ROME 

pallium^ and exhorting them to obedience and love to 
their archbishop. 

^^The notification of your letters, most dear brethren, 
has made known to us that our brother Andrew has, by 
the favor of God, been solemnly ordained bishop of the 
city of Nicopolis. And, since you signify that his con- 
secration has taken place with the assent of the clergy 
and provincials, we rejoice; and we pray that the good 
which you testify of him may remain in him, and by 
the cooperation of God's grace receive increase, since the 
goodness of prelates is the safety of their subordinates. 
It is your duty then to make haste studiously to imitate 
what you show by your praises to be pleasing to you in 
his person. . . . Know ye then that we have sent; a 
pallium to the above-written Andrew our brother and 
fellow-bishop, and have granted him all the privileges 
which our predecessors conferred on his predecessors." 
(Epistle VIII, To Theodoras, Demetrius, Philip, Zene, 
and Alcissonus, Bishops of Epirus.) 

We conclude the quotations from Saint Gregory the 
Great with a short passage on the point of the validity 
of decrees requiring the approval of the Apostolic See. 

^^Though without the authority and consent of the 
Apostolic See nothing that might be passed would have 
any force, nevertheless, before Almighty God I conjure 
and warn you, that the assent of none of you be obtained 
by any blandishments, any bribes, any threats whatever; 
but, having regard to the eternal judgment, acquit ye 
yourselves salubriously and unanimously in opposition 
to wrongful aims; and, supported by pastoral constancy 
and Apostolical authority, keep out the robber and the wolf 
that would rush in, and give no way to him that rages 
for the tearing of the Church asunder : nor allow, through 
any cajolery, a synod to be held on the subject, which 
indeed would not be a legitimate one, nor to be called a 
synod.'' (Epistle LXVIII, To Eusebius of Thessalonica, 
and many other bishops.) 



CHAPTEE X 

APOSTOLIC COIS^STITUTIOXS AIS^D EARLY LITURGIES 

IN conckiding this part of the present work, and as 
belonging to the period we are now considering, atten- 
tion is directed to the Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 
— by which title this compilation was known in very 
early times. The collection, divided into eight Books, is 
generally admitted to be of ancient date and completed 
— at least as far as the first six Books are concerned — 
before 325 A.D. Much of this venerable and precious 
witness of the early practice and faith of the Catholic 
Church undoubtedly dates from the Apostolic age and 
that immediately following, receiving accretions from 
time to time as the Church grew, and as combating here- 
sies developed the necessity for fuller and more detailed 
statement. It still remains, therefore, an unmistakable 
testimony of what the Church was in the first three hun- 
dred years of its life. 

Those who have broken away from the old order of 
church government should read Book II, ^^Of Bishops, 
Presbyters, and Deacons.'' It may be seen in Vol. VII 
of the Ante-lSTicene Fathers, as may all the Apostolic 
Constitutions. 

The Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles, 
bearing on the Apostolic Orders of the Sacred Ministry, 
should also be read by Independents and Reformers. 
They are to be found just after the Apostolic Constitu- 
tions in the volume referred to above. 

Protestant Christians, who have exalted preaching at 
the expense of sacramental worship, would do well to read 
"The Early Liturgies,'' to be found in the same volume 

173 



174 tJNITY AND ROME 

of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. They will be surprised to 
find that what they had imagined to be Roman innova- 
tions was the worship of the Church from the earliest 
times. The faithful of those days did not go to church 
to hear this or that individual, but to take part in the 
great central act of worship — the Holy Eucharist, or 
Mass, the same being the commemoration of the sacrifice 
of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. 

The eighth Book of the Constitutions of the Holy Apos- 
tles is quite generally regarded by scholars as the latest 
of the collection. Dates assigned to it, however, range 
from the end of the second century to somewhere in the 
fourth or fifth century. N"o one doubts that it is a com- 
petent witness to the belief, conduct, and government of 
the Church at a very early age. A single quotation will 
sufiice. 

"Sec. V. — All the Apostles Urge the Observance of 
the Order of the Church. 

"That every one ought to remain in that rank wherein 
he is placed, but not snatch such offices to himself which 
are not entrusted to him. 

"]^ow this we all in common do charge you, that every 
one remain in that rank which is appointed him, and 
do not transgress his proper bounds; for they are not 
ours, but God's. . . . But because many think this is a 
small matter, and venture to confound the orders, and 
to remove the ordination which belongs to them severally, 
snatching to themselves dignities which were never given 
them, and allowing themselves to bestow that authority 
in a tyrannical manner which they have not themselves. 
. . . For ye know undoubtedly that those that are by 
us named bishops, and presbyters, and deacons, were made 
by prayer, and by the laying on of hands; and that by 
the difference of their names is showed the difference of 
their employments. For not every one that will is or- 
dained, as the case was in that spurious and counterfeit 



APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS 175 

priesthood of the calves under Jeroboam; but he only 
who is called of God. For if there were no rule or dis- 
tinction of orders, it would suffice to perform all the 
offices under one name. . . . But being taught by the 
Lord the series of things, we distributed the functions 
of high-priesthood to the bishops, those of the priesthood 
to the presbyters, and the ministration under them both 
to the deacons; that the divine worship might be per- 
formed in purity. . . . By our Saviour were we Apostles, 
thirteen in number, ordained; and by the Apostles I 
James, and I Clement, and others with us, were ordained, 
that we may make catalogue of all those bishops over 
again. And in common, presbyters, and deacons, and sub- 
deacons, and readers, were ordained by all of us. The 
great High Priest therefore, who is so by nature, is 
Christ the only begotten; not having snatched that honor 
to himself, but having been appointed such by the Father ; 
who being made man for our sake, and offering the 
spiritual sacrifice to His God and Father, before His suf- 
fering gave it us alone in charge to do this, although there 
were others with us who had believed in Him. But he 
that believes is not presently appointed a priest, or ob- 
tains the dignity of the high-priesthood. But after His 
ascension we offered, according to His constitution, the 
pure and unbloody sacrifice; and ordained bishops, and 
presbyters, and deacons, seven in number: one of which 
was Stephen, that blessed martyr, who was not inferior 
to us as to his pious disposition of mind towards God; 
who showed so great piety towards God, by his faith 
and love towards our Lord Jesus Christ, as to give his 
life for Him, and was stoned to death by the Jews, the 
murderers of the Lord. Yet still this so great and good 
man, who was fervent in spirit, who saw Christ on the 
right hand of God, and the gates of heaven opened, does 
not appear to have exercised functions which did not 
appertain to his office of deacon, nor to have offered the 



176 TTNITT AND EOMB 

sacrifices, nor to have laid hands upon any, but kept his 
order of a deacon unto the end. For so it became him, 
who was a martyr for Christ, to preserve good order." 
("The Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," Book VIII, 
Sec. V-XLVI.) 



I 



CHAPTER XI 

THE GENEEAL COUNCILS INTRODUCTION 

THE part that the Councils have played in the life of 
the Church is not only interesting — it is essential. 
The Faith of the Holy Catholic Church was formulated 
for all time in the General Councils. The tendency of 
Christianity to-day — especially among Protestants because 
of the break with authority — is to regard the Councils as 
merely an ancient phase of the Church — too remote to 
exert any binding force at the present time, 

Hefele in his great work, ^^The History of the Chris- 
tian Councils/' referring to the point whether they were 
instituted by divine or human authority, says: "They 
are an Apostolical institution ; but the Apostles, when they 
instituted them, acted under the commission which they 
received from Christ, otherwise they could not have pub- 
lished the decisions of their synod with the words, ^It 
seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us/ They must 
have been convinced that the Lord of the Church had 
promised and granted His Spirit to the assemblies of the 
Church/^ 

This statement is not simply the opinion of an indi- 
vidual. Subsequent Councils have spoken of their divine 
guidance with the same conviction. Cyprian in writing 
to Pope Cornelius, in the name of the Council over which 
he presided in 252, says: "It seemed good to us, under 
the guidance of the Holy Spirit. '^ The Synod of Aries 
in 314 uses this language, "It seemed good, therefore, in 
the presence of the Holy Spirit and His angels." The 
Emperor Constantine, referring to the first General Coun- 
cil of Nicsea in 325, said: "What seemed good to the 

177 



178 UT^ITY AND EOMB 

three hundred holy bishops is no otherwise to be thought 
of than as the judgment of the only Son of God.'' All 
the ancient Fathers, Latin as well as Greek, bear the 
same testimony. Gregory the Great goes so far as to 
compare the authority of the first four general councils 
with the importance of the four holy Gospels. 

In the period of the General Councils — the first four 
at least — the Church was not concerned in these great 
Synods with the question of the authority of the Apostolic 
See. It was generally recognized in the early Church 
that the Primacy belonged to the Church founded by the 
Apostles Peter and Paul. The test of orthodoxy of faith 
in those days was agreement with that held by the Church 
at Home from the beginning. The writings of the 
Pathers again and again express the mind of the Church 
on this point. 

With what then were the General Councils concerned, 
and what bearing upon the Unity of the Church did their 
action have? The Councils were summoned for a three- 
fold purpose — to define the Faith more clearly and un- 
mistakably, to condemn heresies, and to drive out the 
heretics unless they repented. Incidentally the Councils 
passed Canons of a disciplinary nature. The Unity which 
the Councils upheld was one of Faith, and that Faith was 
invariably the Belief held by the Apostolic See. Keep- 
ing this in view, let us examine the circumstances under 
which the Councils were called, and then note their 
action. 

A General Council is called by the Pope, or in the 
case where the Emperor as the temporal protector of the 
Church intervened, with the previous or subsequent ap- 
proval and consent of the Pope. The church historian 
Socrates says it was ^^not lawful to pass canons of uni- 
versal obligation at synods without the consent of the 
Bishop of Eome." The sixth Ecumenical Council 680 
expressly stated that the Council of Nicsea was sum- 
moned by the Emperor and Pope Silvester. The same 



THE GENERAL COUNCILS 179 

is asserted in the ancient Liber Pontificalis attributed to 
Pope Damasus. What gives special force to the statement 
of the sixth Council is the fact that it was not held in 
the West, or at Eome itself, but in the East at a time 
when the Bishops of Constantinople already had appeared 
as rivals to the Bishop of Rome, and a large majority of 
those in attendance were Greeks. 

The second General Council at Constantinople 381 was 
held in accordance with a letter of Pope Damasus to the 
Emperor Theodosius the Great. This Council, however, 
was a general synod of the Greek or Eastern Church, and 
obtained its Ecumenical character at a later period on 
its being received in the West. 

The third General Council at Ephesus 431 was sum- 
moned by the Emperor Theodosius in union with his 
Western colleague Valentinian III. That Pope Celes- 
tine I concurred is proved by his letter to Theodosius, 
dated May 15, 431, in which he states that he cannot 
attend in person but will send his legates. In the letter 
of the Pope to the Council itself he sets before the as- 
sembled bishops their duty to protect the orthodox faith 
and expresses his expectation that they will agree to the 
sentence he has already passed upon ISTestorius, and adds 
that he has sent his legates, in order that they may give 
effect to this sentence at Ephesus. How the bishops re- 
garded the sentence of Celestine is shown by their lan- 
guage : "Compelled by the canons and by the letter of our 
most holy father and fellow-servant Celestine, Bishop of 
Rome, we have come to this sad sentence of condemnation 
upon Nestorius.'^ They expressed the same when they 
said of the Pope's letter to Cyril, "the letter of the 
Apostolic See has already set forth the sentence and rule 
to be followed in the case of ITestorius; and they, the 
assembled bishops, had in accordance with this judgment, 
followed up this rule.'' Herein it is clearly acknowledged 
that the Pope had prescribed rules for their guidance. 

Under what circumstances the fourth General Council 



180 UNITY AND EOME 

assembled at Chalcedon 451 may be learned from the let- 
ters of Pope Leo I (dated October 13, and Cbristmas, 
449, and July 16, 450) to the Emperors Theodosius II 
and Marcian. After the unhappy Robber-Synod at Ephe- 
sus in 449, the Pope wished a true General Council to 
meet. He consented to the Council at Chalcedon, ap- 
pointed legates, and wrote to the Synod describing their 
duties and business. Thus in a later Epistle to the bishops 
at Chalcedon he could say that the Council was assembled 
^^by the command of the Christian princes, and with the 
consent of the Apostolic See.'^ 

It may be well at this point to quote Hef ele regarding 
the so-called Robber-Synod. He says that it, "departed 
from the rule of all Ecumenical Councils in the matter 
of the presidency; and it is well to mention this Synod, 
because at first it was regarded as an Ecumenical Coun- 
cil. We have said before that the presidency of it was 
refused to the Pope's legates; and by order of the Em- 
peror Theodosius II, who had been deceived, it was be^- 
stowed upon Dioscurus of Alexandria. But the sensation 
produced by this unusual measure, and the reasons given 
at Chalcedon by the papal legates for declaring this 
Synod of Ephesus to be invalid, indisputably prove that 
we may here apply the well-known axiom, exceptio firmat 
regulam.'' (History of the Christian Councils, Vol. I., 
p. 42.) 

To return to the Council of Chalcedon for a moment, 
the Emperor wrote to the Pope previous to its assem- 
bling, "The Synod is to be held te auctore.'' The part 
which the Pope played in convoking the Council was so 
universally acknowledged that soon after the Bishop of 
Msesia wrote to the Byzantine Emperor Leo, as follows: 
"Many bishops are assembled at Chalcedon by the order 
of Leo the Roman Pontiff, who is truly the head of the 
bishops." 

The Eifth General Council was convoked by the Em- 
peror Justinian I at Constantinople 553, but not without 



THE GENERAL COUNCILS 181 

consultation with Pope Vigilius. The latter says that 
he had agreed with the Emperor in the presence of the 
Archbishop of Constantinople and others that a great 
synod should be held, and that the controversy over the 
Three Chapters should be settled by it. The Pope repeated 
his desire for such a synod in a letter ad universam eccle- 
siam. It goes without saying that no one but the occupant 
of the Apostolic See could address a letter to the uni- 
versal Church. Later Pope Vigilius incurred the dis- 
pleasure of the Emperor, and the latter overstepped his 
powers by ordering the name of Vigilius to be struck 
from the diptychs, which was done, but the Pope in his 
decree to Eutychius of Constantinople, dated December 8, 
553, and in his second Constitutum of February 23, 554, 
approved of the decrees of the fifth Synod. 

The sixth General Council was convoked by the Em- 
peror Pognatus at Constantinople in 680, and he re- 
quested the Pope to send legates to it. Pope Agatho 
consented, and sent to the Emperor, and thus to the Coun- 
cil, a complete exposition of the orthodox faith, and pre- 
scribed therein a rule and directions for the proceedings 
of the Council. Later the Synod, as the Council of 
Ephesus had done, acknowledged this in its letter to 
Agatho, saying: "Through that letter from thee we have 
overcome the heresy . . . and have eradicated the guilty 
by the sentence previously brought concerning them 
through your sacred letter.'' 

The seventh General Council, held at Nicsea in 787, 
was suggested to the Empress Irene by the Patriarch 
Tarasius of Constantinople, who wished to restore the 
reverence for images and union with Rome. At the re- 
quest of the imperial authorities, the Pope Hadrian I sent 
legates, and wrote both to the Empress and to Tarasius. 
In his letter to Charles the Great the Pope says, "And 
thus they held that Synod according to our appointment.'^ 

The eighth General Council, held at Constantinople in 
869, was convoked by the Emperor Basil. It was the 



182 TJlSriTY AND EOME 

last called by the Emperors. From the Lateran Council 
to the Vatican Council, all subsequent General Councils 
were held in the West and were summoned directly by 
the Popes. In response to the request of the Emperor, 
Pope Hadrian II sent legates, and thereby gave his con- 
sent to the convocation of this Ecumenical Synod. Pope 
Leo X, at the eleventh session of the fifth Lateran Coun- 
cil (whose ecumenical character has been contested) de- 
clared in the most decided way that the Pope had the right 
to convoke, to transfer, and to dissolve ecumenical synods. 

In the present volume we are not concerned with the 
question of Papal Supremacy, but only with the Unity 
of the Church. It would appear, however, from a study 
of the Councils that the Apostolic See of Rome had 
an inseparable connection with Unity. The Primacy of 
the Bishop of Rome, as the successor of St. Peter, was 
universally acknowledged, the pattern of her Faith was 
regarded as the exemplar for the whole Church, and the 
test of Unity was communion with Rome. 

The membership of General Councils presents some 
points which bear more or less directly upon the matter 
in hand. Bishops are the natural members of such 
Synods. They alone possessed full privileges, including 
of course the decisive vote. In the first three General 
Councils — Nicaea 325, Constantinople 381, Ephesus 431 — 
the chorepiscopi, or bishops of country places, seem to 
have shared these synodal rights. By the time of the 
Council of Chalcedon 451 the office of chorepiscopus had 
been abolished, and so all the six hundred bishops present 
were those possessing jurisdiction. The bishops, however, 
had the privilege of bringing to the Council theologians 
and doctors of Canon Law, although the latter were priests, 
or even deacons. Such members were given the right to 
speak, but not to vote. In later Councils Bishops, Car- 
dinals, and Abbots possessed full privileges, and as be- 
fore theologians of non-episcopal rank in a consulting 



THE GENERAL COUNCILS 183 

capacity, if invited by the bishops, might be present. A 
priest, if proxy for a bishop, might vote. 

To get the bearing of this principle of Catholic practice 
upon the matter of Unity, let us imagine that a great 
Council of Protestants and Catholics is called at some 
time in the future to consider the Unity of the Church. 
Naturally the Protestant ministers would have much to 
say, and doubtless they would be listened to with pro- 
found respect, but when it came to a vote the Catholic 
bishops, as the lawful chief pastors of the Flock of Christ, 
would retain their Apostolic right to exercise the decisive 
vote. 

There has been repeated mention in this chapter of the 
legates of the Pope — sent to represent him at General 
Councils. The Papal Legates might be bishops, priests, 
or deacons. In some instances the group of legates was 
made up of all three orders of the sacred ministry. 

The presence of the laity at Councils requires some 
mention. In the time of Cyprian, both in Africa and 
in Italy, laymen were allowed to be present at Councils, 
and this custom was continued to later times. Viventiolus, 
Archbishop of Lyons, in the year 517 states the capacity 
in which the laity was present. In his letter summoning 
the synod at Epaon, he says: ^^We permit the laity to 
be present, that the people may know those things which 
are ordained by the priests alone. '^ Of course Emperors 
and Kings, as the temporal protectors of the Church, 
might be present at Councils, either in person, or by their 
representatives. They did not, however, usurp the right 
of the bishops in defining matters of Faith. 

The Anglican communion has gone a step beyond the 
ancient practice with respect to the laity at councils. 
The American Protestant Episcopal Church in particular 
at its triennial General Convention admits the laity on an 
equal footing with the clergy in its House of Clerical 
and Lay Deputies. By this arrangement the laymen 



184 UNITY AND EOME 

have an equal voice and vote with the clergy^ even in 
matters of doctrine and worship — hitherto considered to 
belong to the sphere of the ordained pastors of the Church. 
The Presidency of Councils presents an interesting 
pointy a^d one which naturally must be thought of in 
case a General Council is called to consider the Unity of 
the Church. It may be well to quote Hefele again. He 
says, ^^As the presidency of a diocesan synod belongs to 
the bishopj of a provincial synod to the metropolitan, of 
a national to the primate or patriarch, so, in the nature 
of the case, the presidency of an ecumenical council be- 
longs to the supreme ruler of the whole Church — to the 
Pope ; and this is so clear, that the most violent partisans 
of the episcopal system, who assign to the Pope only 
a primacy of honor (primatus honoris), yet do not in 
the least impugn his right to preside at ecumenical coun- 
cils. The Pope may, however, exercise this presidency 
in person, or he may be represented, as has frequently 
been the case, by his legates. Against this papal right 
of presidency at ecumenical synods the Reformers brought 
forv^ard the objection, that the history of the Church 
showed clearly that the Emperors had presided at some 
of the first eight councils. There was, indeed, no difii- 
culty in bringing forward proof in support of this asser- 
tion, since Pope Stephen V himself writes that the Em- 
peror Constantine presided at the first Council of Nicsea, 
and the ancient acts of the synods frequently refer to 
a presidency of the Emperor or his representative. But 
all such objections, however dangerous they may at first 
seem to be to our position, lose their power when we 
come to consider more closely the state of things in 
connection with the ancient councils, and are willing to 
discuss the matter impartially." (Hefele, ^^History of the 
Christian Councils,'' Vol. I, pp. 27, 28.) 



CHAPTER XII 

ECUMENICAL PRINCIPLES 

IET US see in detail what Hefele means by ^4he state 
-i of things in connection with the ancient councils/' 
beginning with the eighth Ecumenical Council, and trac- 
ing back t^ the first. 

^^Pope Hadrian II sent his legates to the eighth Ecu- 
menical Synod on the express written condition, addressed 
to the Emperor Basil, that they should preside. The 
legates, Donatus, Bishop of Ostia; Stephen, Bishop of 
ITepesina, and Marinus, a Deacon of Rome, read this 
letter before the Synod without the slightest objection 
being brought forward. On the contrary, their names 
were always placed first in the minutes; the duration 
of the sessions was decided by them; and they gave the 
permission for addresses, for the reading of the acts of 
the Synod, and for the introduction of other members 
of the Synod ; and appointed the questions for discussion. 
In short, they appear in the first five sessions without 
dispute as the presidents of the Synod. At the sixth and 
following sessions the Emperor Basil was present, with 
his sons Constantino and Leo and he obtained the pres- 
idency, as the acts relate. But these acts clearly dis- 
tinguish the Emperor and his sons from the Synod; for, 
after naming them, they add, ^the holy and ecumenical 
Synod agreeing.' Thus we perceive that the Emperor 
and his sons are not reckoned among the members of 
the Synod, whilst the papal legates are constantly placed 
first among the members. It is the legates, too, who in 
these later sessions decide the subjects which shall be 
brought forward : they also are the first who sign the acts 

185 



186 UNITY AND ROME 

of the Synod, and that expressly as presidents (prsesi- 
dentes) ; while the Emperor gave a clear proof that he 
did not regard himself as the real president, by wish- 
ing to sign them after all the bishops. The papal legates, 
on the other hand, entreated him to place his own and 
his sons' names at the top ; but he decidedly refused this, 
and at last consented to sign after the representatives of 
the Pope and the Oriental bishops, and before the other 
bishops. . . . The papal legates still undeniably take the 
first place, inasmuch as they are always the first named, 
and first subscribe the acts of the Synod, and, what is 
particularly to be observed, at the last subscription make 
use of the formula, ^presiding over this holy and ecu- 
menical synod'; whilst Ignatius of Constantinople and 
the representatives of the other patriarchs claim no pres- 
idency, but subscribe simply with the words, ^As re- 
ceiving this holy and ecumenical synod, and agreeing 
with all things which it has decided, and which are written 
here, and as defining them, I subscribe.' As there is a 
remarkable difference between the patriarchs and the papal 
legates, so there is also between the patriarchs and the 
other bishops. The latter, like the Emperor, have simply 
used the words, ^receiving I have subscribed,' without 
the addition of ^defining,' by which the votum decisivum 
was usually indicated." 

^^At all the sessions of the seventh Ecumenical Synod, 
the papal legates, the Archpresbyter Peter and the Abbot 
Peter, came first ; after them Tarasius Archbishop of Con- 
stantinople, and the representatives of the other patri- 
archs; next to them the other bishops; and, last of all, 
the imperial commissaries. The decrees were signed in 
the same order, only that the imperial commissaries took 
no part in the subscription." 

"At the sixth Ecumenical Synod the Emperor Con- 
stantino Pognatus was present in person, together with 
several high officials of state. The minutes of the ses- 
sions name him as president, and give the names of his 



ECUMENICAL PRINCIPLES 187 

oJEcials immediately after his own. They next proceed 
to the enumeration of the proper members of the Synod, 
with the formula, ^the holy and ecumenical synod be- 
ing assembled/ — thereby distinguishing, as in the case 
already mentioned, the Emperor and his officials from the 
Synod proper; and name as its first members the papal 
legates, the priests Theodore and George, and the deacon 
John. So these legates are the first to subscribe the acts 
of the Council ; and the Emperor signed at the end, after 
all the bishops, and, as is expressly stated, to give more 
authority to the decrees of the Synod, and to confirm them 
with the formula, 'We have read and consented.' 

"At the fifth Ecumenical Council, as has already been 
pointed out, neither the Emperor (Justinian) nor yet the 
Pope or his legate was present. It was Eutychius, the 
Archbishop of Constantinople, who presided. 

"The fourth Ecumenical Council is of more importance 
for the question now before us. So early as on the 
24th of June, 451, Pope Leo the Great wrote to the 
Emperor Marcian that he had named Paschasinus Bishop 
of Lilybseum as his legate. This legate, Paschasinus, 
in the name of himself and his colleagues (for Leo 
associated with him two other legates — the Bishop Lu- 
centius and the Priest Boniface), at the third session of 
Chalcedon, issued the announcement that Leo had com- 
manded them, insignificant as they were, to preside in 
his place over this holy synod ; and soon after. Pope Leo 
wrote to the bishops of Gaul, speaking of his legates, in 
the following terms: ^My brothers who presided in my 
stead over the Eastern Synod.' Pope Vigilius afterwards 
asserted the same, when, in a circular letter addressed to 
the whole Church, he says, ^over which our predecessor 
of holy memory, Pope Leo, presided by his legates and 
vicars.' Of still greater importance is it that the Council 
of Chalcedon itself, in its synodal letter to Pope Leo, 
expressly says, ^Thou, by thy representatives, hast taken 
the lead among the members of the Synod, as the head 



188 TJl^ITY AND EOME 

among the members of the body/ . . . The solution of 
the difficulty (i.e., the appearance of the Emperor as 
president at any sessions of the Council) is to be found 
in the synodical letter written by the Pope to the Synod. 
It reads thus : Taithful Emperors have used the presi- 
dency for the better preservation of order. ^ 

"The Emperor Theodosius II nominated the Comes 
Candidian as his representative at the third Ecumenical 
Council, held at Ephesus in 431. In a letter addressed 
to the assembled fathers, the Emperor himself clearly de- 
termined the situation of Candidian towards the Council. 
He says : ^I have sent Candidian to your Synod as Comes 
sacrorum domesticorum ; but he is to take no part in the 
discussions on doctrine, since it is not allowable to any 
one, unless enrolled among the most holy bishops, to in- 
termeddle in ecclesiastical discussions.' . . . Pope Celes- 
tine I on his side had appointed the two bishops Arcadius 
and Projectus, together with the priest Phillipus, as his 
legates, and had instructed them to act according to the 
advice of Cyril, and to maintain the prerogatives of the 
Apostolic See. The Pope had before nominated Cyril 
as his representative in the IN'estorian matter, and in 
his letter of 10th of August, 430, he invested him with 
full Apostolic power. 

"When we pass on to the second Ecumenical Council, 
it is perfectly well known and allowed that it was not 
presided over either by the Pope Damasus or his legate; 
for, as has been already said, this Council was not at 
first considered ecumenical, but only a general council 
of the Eastern Church. 

"The solution of the question respecting the presidency 
of the first Ecumenical Council is not without difficulty; 
. . . But Eusebius, who was an eye-witness of the Coun- 
cil, and pays the greatest possible respect to the Emperor, 
says most explicitly: ^After that (meaning the opening 
discourse by the Emperor) the Emperor made way for 
the presidents of the Synod.' These words prove that 



ECUMENICAL PRINCIPLES 189 

Constantine was simply the honorary president^ . . . and, 
as a matter of course, he left to the ecclesiastical presi- 
dents the conducting of the theological discussions. In 
addition to the testimony of the eye-witness Eusebius, 
we have to the same effect the following documents: — 
(a) The acts of the Council of Nicsea, as far as they 
exist, contain the signatures of the bishops, but not that 
of the Emperor. . . . (b) Besides the Emperor was not 
present in person at the commencement of the Synod. It 
must, however, have had its presidents before the Em- 
peror arrived; and a short sentence in Eusebius alludes 
to these presidents: ^He left the management of the 
continuation with those who had before presided.' 
(c) When several complaints of the bishops against each 
other were presented to him, the Emperor had them all 
burnt, and declared that it was not becoming for him to 
give judgment upon priests, (d) We will finally recall 
these words of the Emperor already quoted, that he was 
the bishop of the outward circumstances of the Church; 
words which entirely agree with the position in the Coun- 
cil of N"ic8ea which we have assigned to him. 

^^Who was, then, really president of the Synod? . . . 
We cannot say either with the Magdeburg Centuriators, 
that Eusebius was president because he was seated first on 
the right side. ... It is different with Eustathius, Arch- 
bishop of Antioch. . . . He was one of the great patri- 
archs ; ... he cannot, however, be considered as the only 
president of the Council of I^icsea ; for we must regard the 
expression of Eusebius, which is in the plural; and, be- 
sides, it must not be forgotten that the Patriarch of 
Alexandria ranked higher than the Patriarch of Antioch. 
. . . Gelasius of Cyzicus, who wrote a history of the 
Council of Nicaea in the fifth century says : ^And Hosius 
was the representative of the Bishop of Eome; and he 
was present at the Council of Nicsea, with the two Roman 
priests Vitus and Yincentius.' ... 

"When Baronius and several other Catholic ecclesiastical 



190 UNITY AND ROME 

historians assign to the papal legate Hosius the honor 
of the presidency, they are supported by several author- 
ities for this opinion besides Gelasius. Thus, S. Atha- 
nasius, in his Apologia de fuga, thus expresses himself 
about Hosius: ^Of what synod was he not president?' 
Theodoret speaks just in the same way. Socrates, in 
giving the list of the principal members of the Council 
of Nicsea, writes it in the following order : ^Hosius, Bishop 
of Cordova; Vitus and Vicentius, priests of Rome; Alex- 
ander, Bishop of Alexandria; Eustathius, Bishop of An- 
tioch; Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem.' We see that he 
follows the order of rank ; he would therefore never have 
placed the Spanish bishop, Hosius, before the great pa- 
triarchs of the East, if he had not been the representa- 
tive of the Pope. An examination of the signatures of 
the Council of ISTicsea leads us again to the same con- 
clusion.'' (Hefele, Vol. I, pp. 28-40.) 



CHAPTER XIII 

"unity'^ in the general councils 

As representing the thonglit and feeling of the Early 
Church regarding the question of Unity, Vol. XIV 
of the well-known edition of the JSTicene and Post-lTicene 
Fathers by Schaff and Wace presents some suggestive 
matter. The Captions of the Arabic Canons attributed 
to the Council of Nice to be found on page 48 reads 
as follows: 

"Canon XXXIX — Of the care and power which a 
patriarch has over the bishops and archbishops of his 
patriarchate; and of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome 
over all. 

"Let the patriarch consider what things are done by 
the archbishops and bishops in their provinces; and if 
he shall find anything done by them otherwise than it 
should be, let him change it, as seemeth him fit; for 
he is the father of all, and they are his sons. And al- 
though the archbishop be among the bishops as an elder 
brother, who hath the care of his brethren, and to whom 
they owe obedience because he is over them, yet the 
patriarch is to all those who are under his power, just 
as he who holds the seat of Eome, is the head and prince 
of all patriarchs; inasmuch as he is first, as was Peter, 
to whom power is given over all Christian princes, and 
over all their peoples, as he who is the Vicar of Christ 
our Lord over all peoples and over the whole Christian 
Church, and whosoever shall contradict this is excommuni- 
cated by the Synod. 

"Let there be only four patriarchs in the whole world 
as there are four writers of the Gospels, and four rivers, 

191 



192 UNITY AND EOME 

etc. And let there be a prince and chief over them, the 
lord of the see of the Divine Peter at Kome, according as 
the Apostles commanded. And after him the lord of 
the great Alexandria, which is the see of Mark. And 
the third is the lord of Ephesus, which is the see of 
John the Divine who speaks divine things. And the 
fourth and last is my lord of Antioch, which is another 
see of Peter. . . ." 

In the Synodal Letter of the Council of Nice, ad- 
dressed to the Church of Alexandria, occur these words. 

"We further proclaim to you the good news of the 
agreement concerning the holy Easter, that this particular 
also has through your prayers been rightly settled; so 
that all our brethren in the East who formerly followed 
the custom of the Jews are henceforth to celebrate the 
said most sacred feast of Easter at the same time with 
the Eomans and yourselves and all those who have ob- 
served Easter from the beginning." (Vol. XIV, p. 54.) 

From the Letter of the Emperor Constantine, addressed 
to all those not present at the Council, we quote the 
following. 

"It has appeared good to all ; and I have been guarantee 
for your consent, that you would accept it with joy, 
as it is followed at Rome, in Africa, in all Italy, Egypt, 
Spain, Gaul, Britain, Libya, in all Achaia, and in the 
dioceses of Asia, of Pontus, and Cilicia.'' (Ibid., p. 55.) 

The Emperor's letter, like the preceding passage, refers 
to the general assent to follow the practice of the Church 
at Rome as to the time of keeping Easter. 

A very significant act was performed by the Council 
of Chalcedon in 451, when the 630 fathers assembled 
at that Synod ratified by their first Canon the Canons 
of the Councils of Ancyra (314), Neo-Csesarea (315), 
Gangra (exact date uncertain, but somewhere between 
325 and 381), and Antioch (341). The First Canon of 
the Fourth Ecumenical Council, Chalcedon, reads as fol- 
lows: ^^We have judged it right that the canons of the 



"UITITY^' IlSr THE GENERAL COUNCILS 193 

Holy Fathers made in every synod even until now, should 
remain in force.'' And the Council in TruUo (692), 
often called the Qu^aisext Council, in its second canon, 
has enumerated these synods in the following words. "We 
set our seal to all the rest of the canons which have been 
established by our holy and blessed fathers, that is to say 
by the 318 God-inspired fathers who met at Nice, and 
by those who met at Ancyra, and by those who met at 
JSTeocsesarea, as well as by those who met at Gangra; in 
addition to these the canons adopted by those who met 
at Antioch in Syria, and by those who met at Laodicea 
in Phrygia; moreover by the 150 fathers who assembled 
in this divinely kept and imperial city, and by the 200 
who were gathered in the metropolis of Ephesus, and by 
the 630 holy and blessed fathers who met at Chalcedon," 
etc., etc. (Ibid., p. 59.) 

The sixth Canon of the Council of Gangra was evi- 
dently ignored by the reformers of the sixteenth century, 
and by those who perform ecclesiastical acts without due 
ordination at the hands of a bishop. The Canon reads 
as follows: "If any one shall hold private assemblies 
outside of the Church, and, despising the canons, shall 
presume to perform ecclesiastical acts, the presbyter with 
the consent of the bishop refusing his permission, let him 
be anathema.'' (Ibid., p. 94.) 

The antiquity of the different vestments worn by the 
clergy in the performance of their various duties is testi- 
fied to by Canon XXII of the Synod of Laodicea (325- 
381). ^The subdeacon has no right to wear an orarium 
(i.e., stole), nor to leave the doors." The very learned 
Robert Curzon writes on this point as follows: "Here 
I will remark that the sacred vestures of the Christian 
Church are the same, with very insignificant modifica- 
tions, among every denomination of Christians in the 
world; that they have alwalys been the same, and never 
were otherwise in any country, from tie remotest times 
when we have any written accounts of them, or any 



194 TTNITY AND EOME 

mosaics, sculptures, or pictures to explain their forms. 
They are no more a Popish invention, or have anything 
more to do with the Roman Church than any other usage 
which is common to all denominations of Christians. 
They are and always have been, of general and universal 
— that is, of Catholic — use; they have never been used 
for many centuries for ornament or dress by the laity, 
having been considered as set apart to be used only by 
priests in the church during the celebration of the wor- 
ship of Almighty God.'^ (Ibid., p. 141.) 

It is to be regretted that the Anglican Church, during 
the reformation period when its Prayer Book was being 
compiled, omitted by accident or design from the Nicene 
Creed one of the four marks of the Church. The General 
Council of Constantinople in 381 set forth the Nicene 
Creed in the form used throughout the Catholic Church 
up to the present day. The language of the Creed in its 
article on the Church is, ^^And we believe in one, holy, 
Catholic, and Apostolic Church.'' Anglicans unfortu- 
nately have omitted the second note of the Church ^^holy," 
and it is to be hoped that in the near future action will 
be taken — in the interest of Unity — to restore the Nicene 
Creed to its ancient and Catholic form. 

Speaking of the Creed, it may be well to note that the 
Filioque clause (which addition by the West was largely 
responsible for the Schism of the Eastern Church) was 
not made by the Pope, but in direct opposition to his 
wishes and command. There seems little doubt that the 
words were first inserted in Spain. As early as the year 
400 it had been found necessary at a Council of Toledo 
to affirm the double procession against the Priscillianists, 
and in 589 by the authority of the Third Council of 
Toledo the newly converted Goths were required to sign 
the creed with the addition. But this was at first true 
only of Spain, and at Pome nothing of the kind was 
known. In the Gelasian Sacramentary the Creed is 
found in its original form. The same is the case with 



"unity" in the general councils IOd 

the old Galilean Sacramentary of the seventh and eighth 
century. 

However, there can be no doubt that its introduction 
spread very rapidly through the West and that before 
long it was received everywhere except at Rome. 

In 809 a council was held at Aix-la-Chapelle by Charle- 
magne, and from it three divines were sent to confer 
with the Pope, Leo III, upon the subject. The Pope 
opposed the insertion of the Filioque on the express 
ground that the General Councils had forbidden any ad- 
dition to be made to their formulary. Later on, the 
Prankish Emperor asked his bishops what was ^^the mean- 
ing of the Creed according to the Latins," and Fleury 
gives the result of the investigations to have been, "In 
France they continued to chant the Creed with the word 
Pilioque, and at Rome they continued not to chant it.'^ 

So firmly resolved was the Pope that the clause should 
not be introduced into the Creed that he presented two 
silver shields to the Confessio in St. Peter's at Rome, 
on one of which was engraved the Creed in Latin and 
on the other in Greek, without the addition. This act 
the Greeks never forgot during the controversy. Photius 
refers to it in writing to the Patriarch of Aquileia. 
About two centuries later St. Peter Damian mentions 
them as still in place ; and about two centuries later on, 
Veccur, Patriarch of Constantinople, declares they hung 
there still. 

It was not till 1014 that for the first time the inter- 
polated Creed was used at mass with the sanction of 
the Pope. In that year Benedict VIII acceded to the 
urgent request of Henry II of Germany and so the papal 
authority was forced to yield, and the silver shields have 
disappeared from St. Peter's. (See Vol. XIV, "Nicene 
and Post-ISTicene Fathers," p. 163 and following.) 

The Unity of the Church in the early centuries may 
be seen from another point of view — namely, the legisla- 
tion of the General Councils regarding the order of prece- 



196 UNITY AND EOME 

dence of the Patriarchates. The third Canon of the 
Council of Constantinople (381) reads as follows: "The 
Bishop of Constantinople^ however, shall have the pre- 
rogative of honor after the Bishop of Rome ; because Con- 
stantinople is New Rome/' An ancient Epitome of this 
Canon declares that ^^The bishop of Constantinople is 
to be honored next after the bishop of Rome.'' 

^^It should be remembered that the change effected by 
this canon did not affect Rome directly in any way, but 
did seriously affect Alexandria and Antioch, which till 
then had ranked next after the see of Rome. When the 
Pope refused to acknowledge the authority of this canon 
he was in reality defending the principle laid down in 
the canon of Nice, that in such matters the ancient cus- 
toms should continue. Even the last clause, it would seem, 
could give no offense to the most sensitive on the papal 
claims, for it implies a wonderful power in the rank 
of Old Rome, if a see is to rank next to it because it 
happens to be ^New Rome.' Of course these remarks 
only refer to the wording of the canon which is carefully 
guarded; the intention doubtless was to exalt the see of 
Constantinople, the chief see of the East, to a position 
of as near equality as possible with the chief see of the 
West." (Ibid., p. 178.) 

In the year following the Council of Constantinople, 
namely in 382, the fathers of that Synod addressed a 
Synodical Letter to Pope Damasus and the other bishops 
assembled at Rome. Since they were unable as a body 
to accept the Pope's invitation to come to Rome, they 
refer to the matter in the following words: "We have 
therefore adopted the next best course open to us under 
the circumstances, both for the better administration of 
the Church, and for manifesting our love towards you, 
by strongly urging our most venerated, and honored col- 
leagues, and brother bishops Cyriacus, Eusebius and Pris- 
cianus, to consent to travel to you." A little further on 
in the same Letter they show their anxiety to be con- 



i 



c(„^^^r„^)y 



unity" in the general councils 197 

sidered Catholic in faith by using these words: "Let this 
suffice for a summary of the doctrine which is fearlessly 
and frankly preached by us, and concerning which you 
will be able to be still further satisfied if you will deign 
to read the tome of the synod of Antioch, and also that 
tome issued last year by the Ecumenical Council held at 
Constantinople, in which we have set forth our confession 
of faith at greater length, and have appended an anathema 
against the heresies which innovators have recently in- 
scribed.'' In conclusion they report that they have con- 
secrated bishops for the sees of Constantinople, Antioch, 
and Jerusalem, ending with these words: "We beseech 
your reverence to rejoice at what has thus been rightly 
and canonically settled by us, by the intervention of 
spiritual love and by the influence of the fear of the Lord, 
compelling the feelings of men, and making the edifica- 
tion of churches of more importance than individual 
grace or favor. Thus since among us there is agreement 
in the faith and Christian charity has been established, 
we shall cease to use the phrase condemned by the Apostles, 
I am of Paul and I of ApoUos and I of Cephas, and all 
appearing as Christ's, who in us is not divided, by God's 
grace we will keep the body of the Church unrent, and 
will boldly stand at the judgment seat of the Lord.''' 
(Ibid., pp. 188-190.) 

The spirit of Unity in faith, charity, and ecclesiastical 
authority, which breathes through this Synodical Letter, 
may well be taken to heart by the divided Christianity 
of the present day. 

The famous Galilean Bossuet, who certainly cannot be 
accused of being Ultramontane, wrote thus: "The inno- 
vation of JsTestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, is known ; 
how he divided into two the person of Christ. Pope St. 
Celestine, watchful, according to his office, over the affairs 
of the Church, had charged the blessed Cyril, Bishop 
of Alexandria, to send him a certain report of the doc- 
trine of Nestoriixs, already in bad repute. Cyril declares 



198 UNITY AND ROME 

this in his letter to Nestorius ; and so he writes to Celes- 
tine a complete account, and sets forth the doctrines of 
Nestorius and his own; he sends him two letters from 
himself to Nestorius, who likewise, by his own letters 
and explanations, endeavored to draw Celestine to his 
side. Thus the holy PontiflF, having been most fully 
informed by letters from both sides, is thus inquired of 
by Cyril. 'We have not confidently abstained from Com- 
munion with him (JSTestorius) before informing you of 
this; condescend, therefore, to unfold your judgment, that 
we may clearly know whether we ought to communicate 
with him who cherishes such erroneous doctrine.' And 
he adds, that his judgment should be written to the other 
Bishops also, ^that all with one mind may hold firm in 
one sentence.' Here is the Apostolic See manifestly 
consulted by so great a man, presiding over the second, 
or at least the third, Patriarchal See, and its judgment 
awaited; and nothing remained but that Celestine, being 
duly consulted, should perform his Apostolic office. But 
how he did this, the Acts have shown." (Bossuet, "Def. 
Cler. Gall.,'' Lib. VII, Chap. IX et seq. Abridged. 
Translated by Allies.) 

In the letter of Cyril of Alexandria (previously re- 
ferred to) to Nestorius, to which the twelve Anathe- 
matisms were appended which the latter must sign if 
he wished to be considered orthodox, the writer uses this 
language: "And if your holiness have not a mind to this 
according to the limits defined in the writings of our 
brother of blessed memory and most reverend fellow- 
minister Celestine, Bishop of the Church of Rome, be 
well assured that you have no lot with us, nor place or 
standing among the priests and bishops of God." 

As an example of how the Apostolic See of Rome 
was regarded in those early days, and of the part Rome 
played in preserving the Unity of faith, it may be well 
to quote some extracts from the Acts of the Council 
of Ephesus, held in the ye^r 431. 



cc^^^^^^yy 



unity'' in the general councils 199 

"The most pious and God-beloved bishops, Arcadius 
and Projectus, as also the most beloved-of-God Philip, 
a presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See, then entered 
and took their seats.'' 

Philip the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See 
said, "We bless the holy and adorable Trinity that our 
lowliness has been deemed worthy to attend your holy 
Synod. For a long time ago our most holy and blessed 
Pope Celestine, Bishop of the Apostolic See, through his 
letters to that holy and most pious man Cyril, Bishop 
of Alexandria, gave judgment concerning the present cause 
and affair, which letters have been shewn to your holy 
assembly. And now again for the corroboration of the 
Catholic faith, he has sent through us letters to all youi" 
holinesses, which you will command to be read with be- 
coming reverence and to be entered on the ecclesiastical 
minutes." 

The other two papal legates, bishops Arcadius and 
Projectus, spoke to the same effect, and the Council acted 
accordingly. The entire letter of Celestine to the Synod 
of Ephesus might be read here with great edification, 
breathing as it does a truly paternal care for all the 
churches. It will suffice, however, to quote a few ex- 
tracts from it. 

"We must strive therefore in common to keep the faith 
which has come down to us to-day, through the Apostolic 
Succession. For we are expected to walk according to 
the Apostles. ... Let us be unanimous, thinking the 
same thing, for this is expedient; let us do nothing out 
of contention, nothing out of vain glory; let us be in all 
things of one mind, of one heart, when the faith which 
is one, is attacked. . . . Out of our solicitude, we have 
sent our holy brethren and fellow priests, who are at 
one with us and are most approved men, Arcadius, and 
Projectus, the bishops, and our presbyter, Philip, that 
they may be present at what is done and may carry out 
what things have been already decreed by us, 



200 UNITY AND KOME 

^^To the performing of which we have no doubt that 
your holiness will assent when it is seen that what has 
been decreed is for the security of the whole Church. 
Given the viii of the Ides of May, in the consulate of 
Bassus and Antiochus.'^ 

Later in the same session Philip, presbyter and legate 
of the Apostolic See, said: "We oflFer our thanks to the 
holy and venerable Synod, that when the writings of our 
holy and blessed Pope had been read to you, the holy 
members, by our voices, ye joined yourselves to the holy 
head also by your holy acclamations. For your blessed- 
ness is not ignorant that the head of the whole faith, the 
head of the Apostles, is blessed Peter the Apostle. And 
since now our mediocrity, after having been tempest- 
tossed and much vexed, has arrived, we ask that ye give 
order that there be laid before us what things were done 
in this holy Synod before our arrival; in order that ac- 
cording to the opinion of our blessed Pope and of this 
present holy assembly, we likewise may ratify their 
determination.'' 

After the legates had been informed of what had been 
done by the Synod before their arrival, at the next day's 
session Philip the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic 
See said: ^^There is no doubt, and in fact it has been 
known in all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, 
prince and head of the Apostles, pillar of the faith, and 
foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of 
the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour 
and Redeemer of the human race, and that to him was 
given the power of loosing and binding sins: who down 
even to to-day and forever both lives and judges in his 
successors. The holy and most blessed Pope Celestine, 
according to due order, is his successor and holds his 
place, and us he sent to supply his place in this holy 
Synod, which the most humane and Christian Emperors 
have commanded to assemble, bearing in mind and con- 
tinually watching over the Catholic faith. For they 



cc ^^ _?? 



unity" in the general councils 201 

both have kept and are now keeping intact the Apostolic 
doctrine handed down to them from their most pious and 
humane grandfathers and fathers of holy memory down 
to the present time,'' etc. 

When the Council of Ephesus had finished their pro- 
ceedings, the Synod wrote a letter to Pope Celestine. 
We will quote simply the opening sentences and the con- 
clusion. 

^The Holy Synod which by the grace of God was 
assembled at Ephesus the Metropolis to the most holy and 
our fellow-minister Celestine, health in the Lord. 

"The zeal of your holiness for piety, and your care 
for the right faith, so grateful and highly pleasing to 
God the Saviour of us all, are worthy of all admiration. 
For it is your custom in such great matters to make 
trial of all things, and the confirmation of the Churches 
you have made your own care. But since it is right 
that all things which have taken place should be brought 
to the knowledge of your holiness, we are writing of 
necessity (to inform you) that, by the will of Christ 
the Saviour of us all, and in accordance with the orders 
of the most pious and Christ-loving Emperors, we as- 
sembled together in the Metropolis of the Ephesians from 
many and far scattered regions, being in all over two 
hundred bishops. . . . There were sitting with us the 
most reverend bishops Arcadius and Projectus, and with 
them the most holy presbyter Philip, all of whom were 
sent by your holiness, who gave to us your presence 
and filled the place of the Apostolic See. . . . When there 
had been read in the Holy Synod what had been done 
touching the deposition of the most irreligious Pelagians 
and Coelestines, of Coelestius, and Pelagius, and Julian, 
and Prsesidius, and Floras, and Marcellian, and Orontius, 
and those inclined to like errors, we also deemed it right 
that the determinations of your holiness concerning them 
should stand strong and firm. And -we were all of the 
same mind, holding them deposed. And that you may 



202 UNITY AND EOME 

know in full all things that have been done, we have sent 
you a copy of the Acts, and of the subscriptions of the 
Synod. We pray that you, dearly beloved and most 
longed for, may be strong and mindful of us in the Lord." 



CHAPTEE XIV 

"unity" i]sr THE GENERAL COUNCILS (^Contiuued) 

THE part played by the Pope and his legates in the 
third General Council, as set forth in the preceding 
chapter, and the reverence and obedience shown to his 
decisions, are emphasized by the proceedings of the fourth 
General Council, held at Chalcedon in the year 451. 
Once more we will quote the distinguished Galilean Bos- 
suet, as translated by Allies. 

"An important point treated in the Council of Chalce- 
don, that is, the establishing of the faith, and the ap- 
proval of Leo's letter, is as follows: Already almost the 
whole West, and most of the Easterns, with Anatolius 
himself, Bishop of Constantinople, had gone so far as to 
confirm by subscription that letter, before the council took 
place; and in the council itself the Fathers had often 
cried out, ^We believe, as Leo: Peter hath spoken by 
Leo: we have all subscribed the letter: what has been set 
forth is sufficient for the Faith: no other exposition may 
be made.' " 

The Acta of the Council of Chalcedon will make inter- 
esting reading for those who assert that papal supremacy 
was unknown before the Middle Ages. The actual lan- 
guage of the members of the great Synod will rather 
startle those who are unfamiliar with the facts of history. 
We will quote from Labbe and Cossart, "Concilia," Tom. 
IV, col. 93. 

"Session I. — Paschasinus, the most reverend bishop and 
legate of the Apostolic See, stood up in the midst with 
his most reverend colleagues and said: We received 
directions at the hands of the most blessed and Apostolic 

203 



204 UNITY AND ROME 

bishop of the Eoman city, which is the head of all the 
churches, which directions say that Dioscurus (Bishop of 
Alexandria) is not to be allowed a seat in this assembly, 
bnt that if he should attempt to take his seat he is to 
be cast out; if now your holiness so commands let him 
be expelled or else we leave. 

"After the assembled bishops asked that the specific 
charge against Dioscurus be stated, Lucentius, the most 
reverend bishop having the place of the Apostolic See, 
said: Let him give a reason for his judgment. For 
he undertook to give sentence against one over whom he 
had no jurisdiction. And he dared to hold a synod with- 
out ithe authority of the Apostolic See, a thing which had 
never taken place nor can take place. 

"Paschasinus the most reverend bishop, holding the 
place of the Apostolic See, said: We cannot go counter 
to the decrees of the most blessed and Apostolic bishop, 
who governs the Apostolic See, nor against the ecclesias- 
tical canons nor the patristic traditions.^^ 

After the formal proceedings customary in such cases 
the Synod condemned and expelled Dioscurus in conform- 
ity with the Pope's wishes and instructions. 

The famous Tome of St. Leo, in which he defends 
so well the human and divine natures in the one Person 
of Christ, is too long to be reproduced here. It is, how- 
ever, an example of the fatherly care of that great Pope 
for the universal Church, and of the pains he took that 
the Catholic faith should be preserved intact. After his 
masterly exposition of the Incarnation of the Son of 
God, he concludes with these words: "But in order that 
the whole matter may be piously and faithfully carried 
out, we have appointed our brethren, Julius, Bishop, and 
Eeatus, Presbyter (of the title of St. Clement) and also 
my son Hilarus, Deacon, to represent us; And with 
them we have associated Dulcitius, our Notary, of whose 
fidelity we have had good proof: trusting that the Divine 
assistance will be with you, so that he who has gone 



^^unity'' in the general councils (cont.) 205 

astray may be saved by condemning his own unsound 
opinion. May God keep you in good healthy dearly be- 
loved brother. Given on the Ides of June, in the Con- 
sulate of the illustrious men, Asterius and Protogenes." 

From the Acta of the second session of the Council of 
Chalcedon we have this language. "After the reading 
of the foregoing epistle, the most reverend bishops cried 
out: This is the faith of the fathers, this is the faith 
of the Apostles. So we all believe, thus the orthodox 
believe. Anathema to him who does not thus believe. 
Peter has spoken thus through Leo. So taught the Apos- 
tles. Piously and truly did Leo teach, so taught Cyril. 
Everlasting be the memory of Cyril. Leo and Cyril 
taught the same thing, anathema to him who does not 
so believe. This is the true faith. Those of us who are 
orthodox thus believe. This is the faith of the fathers. 
Why were not these things read at Ephesus (i.e., at the 
heretical synod held there) ? These are the things Dios- 
curus hid away.'^ (Labbe and Cossart, "Concilia,'' Tom. 
IV, col. 368.) 

At the third session of the Council occurred the fol- 
lowing. We quote from the Acta. "Paschasinus the 
bishop of Lilybseum, in the province of Silicia, and hold- 
ing the place of the most holy Leo, archbishop of the Apos- 
tolic See of old Rome, said in Latin what being inter- 
preted is as follows: It is well known to this beloved 
of God synod, that imperial letters were sent to the 
blessed and Apostolic Pope Leo, inviting him to deign to 
be present at the holy synod. But since ancient custom 
did not sanction this, nor the general necessity of the 
time seemed to permit it, our littleness in the place of 
himself he commanded to preside in his place over this 
holy council. Therefore let the book presented by our 
most beloved-of-God brother, and fellow-bishop Eusebius 
be received, and read by the beloved of God archdeacon 
and primicerius of the notaries ^tius.'' 

After -^tius had read the petition of Eusebius, the 



206 UNITY AND ROME 

Acta continue thus : the Roman legates said, "Wherefore 
the most holy and blessed Leo, archbishop of the great 
and elder Rome, through us, and through this present 
most holy synod together with the thrice blessed and all- 
glorious Peter the Apostle, who is the rock and founda- 
tion of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the 
orthodox faith, hath stripped him of the episcopate, and 
hath alienated from him all hieratic worthiness. There- 
fore let this most holy and great synod sentence the 
before mentioned Dioscurus to the canonical penalties." 

Action was taken in accordance with the language of 
the Roman legates and Dioscurus was condemned. 

At the fifth session the Acta read as follows : "The most 
magnificent and most glorious judges said: Dioscurus 
acknowledged that he accepted the expression ^of two 
natures,^ but not that there were two natures. But the 
most holy archbishop Leo says that there are two natures 
in Christ unchangeably, inseparably, unconfusedly united 
in the one only-begotten Son our Saviour. Which would 
you follow, the most holy Leo or Dioscurus? 

"The most reverend bishops cried out: We believe as 
Leo. Those who contradict are Eutychians. Leo hath 
rightly expounded the faith. 

"The most magnificent and glorious judges said: Add 
then to the definition, according to the judgment of our 
most holy father Leo, that there are two natures in Christ 
united unchangeably, inseparably, unconfusedly.'' (Labbe 
and Cossart, "Concilia,'' Tom. IV, col. 555.) 

When we come to the fifth General Council, II Con- 
stantinople held in the year 553, we are face to face with 
the disedifying quarrel between the Emperor Justinian 
and Pope Vigilius, because the latter refused to attend 
the Synod at the Emperor's bidding. In Justinian's Let- 
ter which was read to the Fathers in attendance at the 
Council occurs a passage, which throws some light on 
the importance attached to Unity at this period. We 
quote from the Emperor's Letter to the Council. 



"unity'^ in the general councils (cont.) 207 

"When, for example, Vigilius, Pope of Old Rome, came 
hither, he, in answer to our questions, repeatedly anathe- 
matized in writing the Three Chapters, and confirmed his 
steadfastness in this view by much, even by the condemna- 
tion of his deacons, Rusticus and Sebastian. We possess 
still his declarations in his own hand. Then he issued his 
Judicatum, in which he anathematized the Three Chap- 
ters, with the words, Et quoniam, etc. You know that 
he not only deposed Rusticus and Sebastian because they 
defended the Three Chapters, but also wrote to Valen- 
tinian, bishop of Scythia, and Aurelian, bishop of Aries, 
that nothing be undertaken against the Judicatum. When 
you afterwards came hither at my invitation, letters were 
exchanged between you and Vigilius in order to a com- 
mon assembly. But now he had altered his view, would 
no longer have a synod, but required that only the three 
patriarchs and one other bishop (in communion with 
the Pope and the three bishops about him) should decide 
the matter. In vain we sent several commands to him 
to take part in the synod. He rejected also our two pro- 
posals, either to call a tribunal for decision, or to hold 
a smaller assembly, at which, besides him and his three 
bishops, every other patriarch should have place and voice, 
with from three to five bishops of his diocese. ^^ 

Evidently Pope Vigilius took a lofty view of the pre- 
rogatives of the Apostolic See even in those days, and 
did not intend that the successor of St. Peter should be 
bullied by the Emperor himself, but the latter took his 
revenge by ordering that the name of Vigilius should 
be struck from the diptychs of the Church. In the sen- 
tence of the Synod condemning the Three Chapters, 
namely, the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, the 
writings of Theodoret, and the letter of Ibas to Maris, 
the Persian, occurs a curious passage, as follows. 

"Moreover several letters of Augustine, of most religious 
memory, who shone forth resplendent among the African 
bishops, were read, shewing that it was quite right that 



208 UNITY AND ROME 

heretics should be anathematized after death. And this 
ecclesiastical tradition, the other most reverend bishops 
of Africa have preserved: and the holy Roman Church 
as V7ell had anathematized certain bishops after their 
death, although they had not been accused of any falling 
from the faith during their lives: and of each we have 
the evidence in our hands.'^ 

The great name of Augustine is thus linked with "the 
Power of the Keys/' even to the extent of its exercise 
after death, and is endorsed by the fifth General Council. 
Later Pope Vigilius confirmed the Synod in a Decretal 
Epistle, which is greatly to the credit of his humility 
and goodness of heart. We quote from Fleury. 

"At last the Pope Vigilius resigned himself to the 
advice of the Council, and six months afterwards wrote 
a letter to the Patriarch Eutychius, wherein he confesses 
that he has been wanting in charity in dividing from his 
brethren. He adds, that one ought not to be ashamed 
to retract, when one recognizes the truth, and brings 
forward the example of St. Augustine. He says, that, 
after having better examined the matter of the Three 
Chapters, he finds them worthy of condemnation. ^We 
recognize for our brethren and colleagues all those who 
have condemned them, and annul by this writing all that 
has been done by us or by others for the defense of the 
Three Chapters.' " 

At the sixth General Council, III Constantinople', held 
in 680-681, the papal Legates were present. It may be 
interesting to remark that the sacras sent to the bishops 
of Rome and Constantinople are addressed, the one to 
^^The Most Holy and Blessed Archbishop of Old Rome 
and Ecumenical Pope," and the other to ^^The Most Holy 
and Blessed Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumeni- 
cal Patriarch." Some of the titles given themselves by 
the signers of the "Prosphoneticus" are interesting — 
"George, an humble presbyter of the holy Roman Church, 
and holding the place of the most blessed Agatho, ecu- 



^^UNITY^' IN THE GENEEAI. COUNCILS (CONT.) 209 

menical Pope of tlie city of Kome. . . ." ^^John, an 
humble deacon of the holy Koman Church and holding 
the place of the most blessed Agatho, and ecumenical 
Pope of the City of Eome. . . .'^ ^^George, by the mercy 
of God bishop of Constantinople which is new Eome. 
. . /' "Peter, a presbyter and holding the place of the 
Apostolic See of the great city Alexandria. . . .'^ 
"George, an humble presbyter of the Holy Eesurrection 
of Christ our God, and holding the place of Theodore 
the presbyter, beloved of God, who holds the place of 
the Apostolic See of Jerusalem. . . ." "John, by the 
mercy of God bishop of the City of Thessalonica, and 
legate of the Apostolic See of Eome,'^ "John, the un- 
worthy bishop of Portus, legate of the whole Council of 
the holy Apostolic See of Eome,'' . . . "Stephen, by the 
mercy of God, bishop of Corinth, and legate of the Apos- 
tolic See of Old Eome." (Vol. XIV, Nicene and Post- 
l^icene Fathers, p. 326.) 

The Letter of Agatho, Pope of Old Eome, to the Em- 
peror contains a significant sentence as showing the role 
played by the Apostolic See at this time in the Christian 
world. It reads as follows: "And that no one may 
be ignorant of this pious intention of yours, or suspect 
that we have been compelled by force, and have not freely 
consented to the carrying into effect of the imperial de- 
crees touching the preaching of our evangelical faith 
which was addressed to our predecessor Donus, a pontiff 
of Apostolic memory, they have through our ministry 
been sent to and entirely approved by all nations and 
peoples.'' 

To the same general effect we quote the address and 
ending of the Letter of Pope Agatho and of 125 Bishops 
of the Eoman Synod which was to serve as an instruction 
to the Legates sent to attend the sixth General CounciL 

It begins: "To the most pious Lords and most serene 
victors and conquerors, our own sons beloved of God and 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, Constantino, the great Em- 



210 UNITY AND ROME 

peror, and Heraclius and Tiberius, Augustuses, Agatho, 
the bishop and servant of the servants of God, together 
with all the synods subject to the council of the Apostolic 
See. . . . But we, although most humble, yet strive with 
all our might that the commonwealth of your Christian 
empire may be shown to be more sublime than all the 
nations, for in it has been founded the See of Blessed 
Peter, tlie prince of the Apostles, by the authority of 
which, all Christian nations venerate and worship with 
us, through the reverence of the blessed Apostle Peter 
himself/' 

At the eighth session of the Synod of III Constanti- 
nople the Acta were in part as follows: (The Emperor 
said) ^Tet George, the most holy archbishop of this God- 
preserved city, and let Macarius, the venerable archbishop 
of Antioch, and let the synod subject to them (i.e., their 
suffragans) say, if they submit to the force of the sug- 
gestions sent by the most holy Agatho Pope of old Rome 
and by his Synod.'' (The answer of George) ^^I have dili- 
gently examined the whole force of the suggestions sent 
to your most pious Fortitude, as well by Agatho, the most 
holy Pope of Old Rome, as by his synod, and I have 
scrutinized the works of the holy and approved Fathers, 
which are laid up in my venerable patriarchate, and I 
have found that all the testimonies of the holy and ac- 
cepted Fathers, which are contained in those suggestions 
agree with, and in no particular differ from, the holy 
and accepted Fathers. Therefore I give my submission 
to them and thus I profess and believe." 

All the other bishops of the Council also expressed 
their submission to the suggestions of the Apostolic See. 
At the conclusion of the Council the Fathers addressed 
a Prosphoneticus to the Emperor explanatory of theii^ 
action. After the usual high-sounding titles and com- 
pliments to the imperial ruler, they reaffirm their adher- 
ence to the orthodox faith. Before the final request to 
the Emperor for his imperial ratification in writing the 



^%nity'^ in the general councils (cont.) 211 

Council closes its statement with the following passage. 

"But the highest prince of the Apostles fought with 
us : for we had on our side his imitator and the successor 
in his See, who also had set forth in his letter the mys- 
tery of the divine word. For the ancient city of Rome 
handed thee a confession of divine character, and a chart 
from the sunsetting raised up the day of dogmas, and 
made the darkness manifest, and Peter spoke through 
Agatho, and thou, O autocratic King, according to the 
divine decree, with the omnipotent sharer of thy throne, 
didst judge.'' 

The Letter of the Council to St. Agatho contains lan- 
guage which will come somewhat as a shock to those who 
minimize, or altogether deny, the Petrine claims. We 
will quote the opening sentences, omitting the dutiful 
salutation "to the most holy and most blessed pope of 
Old Rome, Agatho.'' 

"Serious illnesses call for greater helps, as you know, 
most blessed father; and therefore Christ our true God, 
who is the creator and governing power of all things, 
gave a wise physician, namely your God-honored sanctity, 
to drive away by force the contagion of heretical pestilence 
by the remedies of orthodoxy, and to give the strength 
of health to the members of the church. Therefore to 
thee, as to the bishop of the first see of the Universal 
Church, we leave what must be done, since you willingly 
take for your standing ground the firm rock of the faith, as 
we know from having read your true confession in the 
letter sent by your fatherly beatitude to the most pious 
emperor : and we acknowledge that this letter was divinely 
written as by the Chief of the Apostles, and through it 
we have cast out the heretical sect of many errors which 
had recently sprung up." 



OHAPTEE XV 

ECUMEl^ICAIi AI^D AERICAT^ CAISTOI^S 

TO retum to an earlier period, let ns see what Canon 
III, of the Council of Sardica, held in 343 or 344, 
says. 

^^Bishop Hosius said : This also it is necessary to add, 
— that bishops shall not pass from their own province 
to another province in which there are bishops, unless 
perchance upon invitation, of their brethren, that we 
seem not to close the door of charity. 

^^But if in any province a bishop have a matter in 
dispute against his brother bishop, one of the two shalj 
not call in as judge a bishop from another province. 

"But if judgment have gone against a bishop in any 
cause, and he think that he has a good case, in order that 
the question may be reopened, let us, if it be your pleas- 
ure, honor the memory of St. Peter the Apostle, and 
let those who tried the case write to Julius, the bishop 
of Rome, and if he shall judge that the case should be 
retried, let that be done, and let him appoint judges; 
but if he shall find that the case is of such a sort that 
the former decision need not be disturbed, what he has 
decreed shall be confirmed. 

"Is this the pleasure of all? The synod answered, 
It is our pleasure.^^ 

Canon IV of the same Council reads as follows: "If 
it seems good to you, it is necessary to add to this decision 
full of sincere charity which thou hast pronounced, that 
if any bishop be deposed by the sentence of these neigh- 
boring bishops, and assert that he has fresh matter in 
defense, a new bishop be not settled in his see, unless 

212 



ECUMENICAL AND APRICAN CANONS 213 

the bishop of Rome judge and render a decision as to 
tMs/^ 

The fifth Sardican Canon bears on the same subject. 
"Decreed, that if any bishop is accused, and the bishops 
of the same region assemble and depose him from his 
office, and he appealing, so to speak, takes refuge with 
the most Jblessed bishop of the Roman church, and he be 
willing to give him a hearing, and think it right to renew 
the examination of his case, let him be pleased to write 
to those fellow-bishops who are nearest the province that 
they may examine the particulars with care and accuracy 
and give their votes on the matter in accordance with 
the word of truth. And if any one require that his case be 
heard yet again, and at his request it seem good to move 
the bishop of Rome to send presbyters a latere, let it be 
in the power of that bishop, according as he judges it 
to be good and decides it to be right — that some be sent 
to be judges with the bishops and invested with his 
authority by whom they were sent. And be this also 
ordained. But if he thinks that the bishops are sufficient 
for the examination and decision of the matter let him 
do what shall seem good in his most prudent judgment. 
The bishops answered: What has been said is approved.'^ 

With regard to- bishops in the provinces who wish to 
ask the assistance of friends at court in any proper matter, 
the ninth Canon of this Council has this to say. "But 
those who come to Rome ought, as I said before, to de- 
liver to our beloved brother and fellow-bishop, Julius, 
the petitions which they have to give, in order that he 
may first examine them, lest some of them should be im- 
proper, and so, giving them his own advocacy and care, 
shall send them to the Court. 

"All the bishops made answer that such was their 
pleasure and that the regulation was most proper.'^ 

In this connection it is interesting to remember that 
the First Canon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, Chal- 
cedon, reads as follows: "We have judged it right that 



214 UNITY AND ROME 

the canons of the Holy Fathers made in every synod 
even until now, should remain in force.'' 

At the XVII Council of Carthage, held May 25, 419, 
which adopted the African Code, there arose the im- 
fortunate difference between the African Bishops and the 
Legates from the Roman Church regarding the number 
of the Nicene Canons. According to Constantinople, 
Alexandria, and Antioch the Council of Nice passed 
twenty Canons. The Archbishop of Carthage, Csecilean 
(predecessor of Aurelius, Archbishop of Carthage at the 
time this African Synod was held) attended the Council 
of Nice, and brought home a copy of the twenty Nicene 
statutes. In the meantime, however, the Canons of Nice 
together with the Canons of other Councils, such as Sar- 
dica, were numbered consecutively, and in many quarters, 
including Rome, were held as of Nicene authority. The 
instructions of the Roman Legates regarding appeals to 
Rome were based on this understanding. 

It is interesting to note in connection with this African 
Synod that in Canon XXIV, under the heading, That 
Nothing Be Read in Church Besides the Canonical Scrip- 
ture, is found a list of the books in the Old and New 
Testaments, in which the Epistles of St. Peter are named 
before the Epistle of St. James. It raises the question 
quite naturally why this order has not always been ob- 
served, since there is no doubt that St. Peter has always 
ranked first, and rightly so, as it was by our Lord's 
appointment. 

Canon XCIII of the African Code concludes with these 
words, "Letters ought also to be sent to the Bishop of 
the Church of Rome in commendation of the legates, and 
to the other bishops who may be where the Emperor is. 
To this they assented. 

"Likewise I, Aurelius, Bishop of the Church of Car- 
thage, have consented to this decree, and having read it, 
have set my name to it. 

"And all the other bishops likewise subscribed. 



yy 



ECUMENICAL AND AFRICAN CANONS 215 

In the same Code Canon CVI contains this language: 
^^It seemed good that whoever wished to go to court should 
give notice in the form which is sent to the Church of 
the city of Rome, that from thence also he should re- 
ceive a formed letter to court. But if receiving only 
a formed letter to Rome, and saying nothing about the 
necessity which he had of going to court, he willed imme- 
diately to go thither, let him be cut off from communion. 
But if while at Rome the necessity of going to court 
suddenly arose, let him state his necessity to the bishop 
of Rome and let him carry with him a rescript of the 
same Roman bishop.'' 

The value set upon Unity, and the care with which 
it was preserved in the early Church, are shown in the 
five concluding Canons of the African Code. (Canon 
CXXXIV to Canon CXXXVIII.) In their anxiety to 
maintain Unity, Aurelius and the 217 bishops assembled 
at the Council of Carthage wrote to Pope Boniface (who 
had succeeded Pope Zosimus by whom the Commonitory, 
to which the African bishops took exception, had been 
sent), that they would observe the alleged Canons of 
Nice until authenticated copies of the genuine Nicene 
statutes were received from the Patriarchs of the East. 
When the original twenty Canons of Nice, as received 
in Africa, were substantiated by the Eastern Patriarchs, 
and authenticated copies likewise sent to Rome, Aurelius 
and his fellow-bishops wrote again to the Pope (this time 
Celestine, who had succeeded Boniface in the interval) 
expressing their firm intention in most respectful lan- 
guage to retain the primatial rights allowed them by the 
Council of Nice. After all it was not a question of the 
headship of the Church, but the specific point that a 
Metropolitan should have the rule over his suffragan 
bishops, the latter over their clergy, and that judgments 
in the internal administration of the African Church 
should not be nullified by appeals to the Apostolic See. 

In passing it may be well to refer to the historian 



216 IJlSriTY AND EOMB 

Gibbon's unwarranted charge that the Seventh Ecumenical 
Council of the Christian Church was ^^a curious monu- 
ment of superstition and ignorance, of falsehood and 
folly." The editors of the Nicene and Post-Nicene 
Fathers well say, "no impartial reader (of the acts of 
the Synod) can fail to recognize the profound learning 
of the assembly, the singular acumen displayed in the 
arguments employed, and the remarkable freedom from 
what Gibbon and many others would consider ^supersti- 
tion/ " 

As to the assertion of those who seek to bolster up 
their doctrinal position, that this seventh (II Nicene) 
Council was not ecumenical, we simply present the fol- 
lowing facts. 

(a) It was called by the Roman Emperors to be an 
Ecumenical Council, (b) It was called with the approval 
of the Pope, and two papal legates were present at its 
deliberations and signed its decrees, (c) The Patriarch 
of Constantinople was present in person, (d) The other 
Patriarchates were represented, (e) The decrees were 
adopted by an unanimous vote of the three hundred 
and fifty bishops, (f ) They were immediately received 
in all four Eastern Patriarchates, (g) They were imme- 
diately accepted by the Pope, (h) For a full thousand 
years they have been received by the Latin and Greek 
Churches with but a few exceptions altogether insignifi- 
cant, save the Prankish kingdom. (Ibid., pp. 523, 524.) 

The Imperial Sacra sent by the Emperors Constantine 
and Irene to the most holy and most blessed Hadrian, 
Pope of Old Rome, before the Seventh Ecumenical Coun- 
cil opens as follows: "They who receive the dignity of 
the empire, or the honor of the principal priesthood from 
our Lord Jesus Christ, ought to provide and to care for 
those things which please him, and rule and govern the 
people committed to their care according to his will and 
pleasure. 

"Therefore, O most holy Head, it is incumbent upon 



ECUMENICAL AND AFRICAN CANONS 217 

US and you, that irreprehensibly we know the things 
which be his, and that in these we exercise ourselves, 
since from him we have received the imperatorial dignity, 
and you the dignity of the chief priesthood." 

The Emperor after rehearsing what has been done 
against the venerable images in Constantinople contrary 
to the faith, and declaring his intention to summon a 
General Council to right these wrongs beseeches the Pope 
to attend in these words: "And we entreat your paternal 
blessedness . . . that you will give yourself to us and 
make no delay, but come up hither to aid us in the 
confirmation and establishment of the ancient tradition 
of venerable images. ... As then you are the veritable 
chief priest (primus sacerdos) who presides in the place 
and see of the holy and superlaudable Apostle Peter, let 
your paternal blessedness come to us, as we have said 
before, and add your presence to all those other priests 
who shall be assembled together here, that thus the will 
of the Lord may be accomplished. ... If, however, your 
blessedness cannot attend upon us (which we can scarcely 
imagine, knowing what is your zeal about divine things) , 
at least, pray select for us men of understanding, having 
with them letters from your holiness, that they may be 
present here in the person of your sacred and paternal 
blessedness. So, when they meet with the other priests 
who are here, the ancient tradition of our holy fathers 
may be synodically confirmed, and every evil plant of tares 
may be rooted out, and the words of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ may be fulfilled, that ^the gates of hell shall 
not prevail against her.' And after this, may there be 
no further schism and separation in the one holy Catho- 
lic and Apostolic Church, of which Christ our true God 
is the Head.'' 

In the Imperial Sacra read at the first session of the 
Council, the Emperor Constantino, referring to the re- 
luctance of Tarasius to become Patriarch of Constanti- 
nople, because of conditions in the Church at the time, 



218 UNITY AND KOME 

makes him use this language: ^^I should demand that an 
Ecumenical Council should be held, at which should be 
found Legates from the Pope of Rome and from the 
Chief Priests of the East." 

In conclusion the Emperor wrote as follows : ^ We have 
received letters from Hadrian, most Holy Pope of old 
Rome, by his Legates — namely, Peter, the God-beloved 
Archpresbyter, and Peter, the God-beloved Presbyter and 
Abbot — who will be present in council with you; and we 
command that, according to synodical custom, these be 
read in the hearing of you all; and that, having heard 
these with becoming silence, and moreover the Epistles 
contained in two octavos sent by the Chief Priest and 
other Priests of the Eastern dioceses by John, most 
pious Monk and Chancellor of the Patriarchal throne of 
Antioch, and Thomas, Priest and Abbot, who are also 
present together with you, ye may by these understand 
what are the sentiments of the Church Catholic on this 
point. '^ 

The Letter of Pope Hadrian to Constantine and Irene, 
which was read to the Council, is so interesting that 
we venture to quote it in full: "If you persevere in 
that orthodox Faith in which you have begun, and the 
sacred and venerable images be by your means erected 
again in those parts, as by the lord, the Emperor Con- 
stantine of pious memory, and the blessed Helen, who 
promulgated the orthodox Faith, and exalted the holy 
Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church your spiritual 
mother, and with the other orthodox Emperors venerated 
it as the head of all Churches, so will your Clemency, that 
is protected of God, receive the name of another Con- 
stantine, and another Helen, through whom at the be- 
ginning the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church derived 
strength, and like whom your own imperial fame is spread 
abroad by triumphs, so as to be brilliant and deeply fixed 
in the whole world. But the more, if following the tra- 
ditions of the orthodox Faith, you embrace the judgment 



ECUMENICAL AND AFRICAN CANONS 219 

of the Church of blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles, and, 
as of old your predecessors the holy Emperors acted, so 
you, too, venerating it with honor, love with all your heart 
his Vicar, and if your sacred majesty follow by prefer- 
ence their orthodox Faith, according to our holy Roman 
Church. May the chief of the Apostles himself, to whom 
the power was given by our Lord God to bind and remit 
sins in heaven and in earth, be often your protector, and 
trample all barbarous nations under your feet, and every- 
where make you conquerors. For let sacred authority lay 
open the marks of his dignity, and how great veneration 
ought to be shewn to his, the highest See, by all the faith- 
ful in the world. For the Lord set him who bears the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven as chief over all, and by 
Him is he honored with this privilege, by which the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven are entrusted to him. He, there- 
fore, that was preferred with so exalted an honor was 
thought worthy to confess that Faith on which the Church 
of Christ is founded. A blessed reward followed that 
blessed confession, by the preaching of which the holy 
universal Church was illumined, and from it the other 
Churches of God have derived the proofs of Faith. For 
the blessed Peter himself, the chief of the Apostles, who 
first sat in the Apostolic See, left the chiefship of his 
Apostolate, and pastoral care, to his successors, who are 
to sit in his most holy seat forever. And that power of 
authority, which he received from the Lord God our 
Saviour, he too bestowed and delivered by divine com- 
mand to the Pontiffs, his successors,'' etc. 

According to Anastasius the Librarian a portion of the 
Pope's letter to the imperial Rulers (with the consent 
of the Papal Legates) was not read to the Council, prob- 
ably out of deference to the feelings of Tarasius, the 
Patriarch of Constantinople, and that the harmony of 
the Council might not be disturbed. As this omitted 
portion deals with the attempt of Constantinople to as- 
sume a quasi equality in title and honor with Rome, 



220 UNITY AND EOMl 

the Apostolic See, we reproduce it in full: "We greatly 
wondered that in your imperial commands, directed for 
the Patriarch of the royal city, Tarasius, we find him 
there called Universal: but we know not whether this 
was written through ignorance or schism, or the heresy 
of the wicked. But henceforth we advise your most mer- 
ciful and imperial majesty, that he be by no means called 
Universal in your writings, because it appears to be con- 
trary to the institutions of the holy Canons and the de- 
crees of the traditions of the holy Fathers. For he never 
could have ranked second, save for the authority of our 
holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, as is plain to all. 
Because if he be named Universal, above the holy Roman 
Church which has a prior rank, which is the head of 
all the Churches of God, it is certain that he shews him- 
self as a rebel against the holy Councils, and a heretic. 
For, if he is Universal, he is recognized to have the Pri- 
macy even over the Church of our See, which appears 
ridiculous to all faithful Christians : because in the whole 
world the chief rank and power was given to the blessed 
Apostle Peter by the Redeemer of the world himself ; and 
through the same Apostle, whose place we unworthily 
hold, the holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church holds 
the first rank, and the authority of power, now and for- 
ever, so that if any one, which we believe not, has called 
him, or assents to his being called Universal, let him 
know that he is estranged from the orthodox Faith, and 
a rebel against our holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.'^ 

After the usual formalities and procedure, Peter and 
Peter, the God-beloved presbyters and legates of the Apos- 
tolic See, said: Let the holy Synod say whether it re- 
ceives the letters of the most holy Pope of Old Rome. 

The holy Synod said: We follow, we receive, we ad- 
mit them. 

With regard to the Apostolical Canons, eighty-five in 
number, they, together with certain other Canons not of 
conciliar authority, were accepted by the Synod in TruUo, 



ECUMEJiTICAL AND AFRICAN CANONS 221 

held in 692, as authentic and truly representing Apostolic 
practice. In the East the Council in TruUo is regarded 
as Ecumenical, and therefore the authenticity of the 
Apostolical Canons, as far as the Easterns are concerned, 
is settled for all time. In this connection it is interesting 
to note that Canon LXXXV of the Apostolical Canons 
recites a list of the canonical scriptures, and in the case 
of the ISTew Testament places the order of the General 
Epistles as follows: "Two Epistles of Peter: three of 
John: one of James, and one of Jude." One cannot 
help wondering, as was said in a previous passage, why 
that order was ever changed, remembering that Peter out- 
ranked the others, and John, the remaining two. 

In concluding these chapters on the Councils, it may 
be said that both the Fathers assembled in council and 
the Christian Emperors, the lay protectors of the Church, 
laid great stress on Unity. In their eyes orthodoxy of 
Faith could not be separated from Unity. We have seen, 
also, that through all the efforts of the early Church to 
maintain Unity and Orthodoxy, the Apostolic See played 
a great and inseparable part. It would seem difficult, 
nay, impossible for Christians in any subsequent age to 
attain Unity, and leave Home out. 

We have set forth in order the record of the Past- 
Fathers, Councils, Apostolical Constitutions, and Ancient 
Liturgies. It is a cloud of witnesses than which there is 
no greater — a picture of the Church in its great formative 
period. To fly in the face of such testimony is to admit 
surrender to individual vagaries and unverified predilec- 
tions. Opinions of Reformation leaders have had oppor- 
tunity to prove themselves. The world is in a position 
to judge of the results. The question now is, shall we 
rest upon authoritative foundations, or shall we follow 
here, there, anywhere, the confused, uncertain beckonings 
of self -constituted and differing leaders ? 

Which way, brethren, think you lies the Unity for which 
Christ prayed ? 



PAKT III 
THE THREEFOLD MINISTRY 



CHAPTER I 

SOME FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FAITH 

SOME doctrines of Christianity are so fundamental 
in character, so necessary to the subsequent rearing 
of the whole superstructure of belief, that without them 
the entire system falls to the ground. Such truths may 
very properly be termed axioms, or postulates, of the 
Eaith. 

The first and most important of these, as regards the 
Churchy is that its Divine Founder, Our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, had in His mind a clear and adequate plan 
of the Church. N'othing was left to chance, as that would 
be inconsistent with the perfection of the Divine Mind. 
It would also be unworthy of the great end He had in 
view, namely, the salvation of mankind. It was for this 
reason that Our Lord chose a fixed and clearly defined 
number of men to act as His representatives in the work 
of founding and governing the Church. That this was 
clearly understood by Saint Peter, the chief of the Apos- 
tles, is shown by the fact that shortly after Christ's As- 
cension he called the remaining eleven Apostles together 
and told them of the necessity of choosing another Apostle 
to take the place of the traitor Judas Iscariot in order 
that the Apostolic College might be restored to its original 
number of twelve, as appointed by Christ. 

Our Lord, as was eminently proper, clothed and en- 
dowed these instruments of His grace with peculiar and 
plenary powers, as is witnessed by His words, "As my 
Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.'' St. John XX, 
21. It was after the election of Matthias to be the twelfth 
Apostle, and not until then, that Saint Peter and his 

225 



226 UNITY AND ROME 

colleagues received the gift of the Holy Ghost in accord- 
ance with the promise of Christy ^^It is expedient for you 
that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will 
not come unto you: but if I depart, I will send Him 
unto you.'' St. John XVI, 7. Again, before His As- 
cension into heaven, as if to give special solemnity to this 
great event. Our Lord, while He yet lingered those last 
few days in His glorified body among His Apostles, re- 
peated His promise, "And, behold, I send the promise of 
my Father upon you ; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusa- 
lem, until ye be endued with power from on high.'' St. 
Luke XXIV, 49. 

It may be stated, therefore, as an Axiom of Christian 
belief that the Divine Founder of the Church, in Whose 
mind the perfect pattern of His Kingdom was clearly 
outlined, left the Church fully furnished with a Ministry 
suitable for present needs and clothed with authority and 
power to provide all things necessary for its future de- 
velopment. 

In the next place it must be set down as a Postulate 
of the Faith that the Church — in existence before the 
'New Testament was written and deciding what Books were 
Canonical — possesses an authority greater than the writ- 
ings upon which it passed judgment. A secondary truth 
flowing from this is, that the Church having settled what 
Scriptures were to be received as the Inspired Word of 
God, these Writings are to be accepted in their entirety, 
and no individual has the right to pick and choose, accept 
or reject, passages therein which do or do not fall in with 
his personal opinions. 

Another Axiom, which the faithful are required to ac- 
cept, is that the same Spirit of Truth, Who enabled the 
Church to decide what Scriptures are the Word of God, 
has preserved in the Church "the faith once delivered to 
the saints." St. Paul, speaking of the Church, says, "The 
house of God, which is the church of the living God, 
the pillar and ground of the truth." I Timothy III, 15. 



SOME FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FAITH 227 

Also, Our Lord says distinctly, ^^Howbeit when He, the 
Spirit of truth, is come. He will guide you into all truth.'' 
St. John XVI, 13. Therefore we may be sure that the 
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, for example, promul- 
gated by the undivided Church in 325 A.D. at the Council 
of Nic8ea and completed at the Council of Constantinople 
in 381, was under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, is free 
from all error, and holds good for all time. It must be 
borne in mind, however, that the same promise of inerrancy 
does not apply to a divided and heretical church. 

It must also be accepted as a Postulate of the Faith that 
the Church of Christ will be preserved in safety against 
all attacks of the powers of Darkness, no matter under 
what form they come, or what may be the errors and 
frailties of men. This again is in accord with another 
promise of Christ, ^^And I say also unto thee. That thou 
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." St. Matt. 
XVI, 18. 

Finally there is one other fundamental truth which lies 
at the very root of the whole doctrine of the Church, 
namely, that no man or woman in the sixteenth, nine- 
teenth, or any other century, has the right to start a new 
church, with a diflFerent conception of the authority of 
the Church, its Ministry and Sacraments, than that which 
has come down from the Apostles, who received their dele- 
gated powers from Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As 
St. Paul says, ^^But let every man take heed how he 
buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man 
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.'^ I Cor. Ill, 
10, 11. 

With this understanding of the nature and teaching of 
the Church, we are in a position to proceed to the con- 
sideration of our immediate subject, "The Threefold Min- 
istry.'' 



CHAPTEE II 

THE MINISTRY UISTDER THE APOSTLES 

THE literary material contemporaneous with the Apos- 
tles, from which any study of the Threefold Ministry- 
may be made, is strictly confined to the writings of the 
New Testament. 'No other Christian writings of the 
Apostolic Period are extant, so far as is known with cer- 
titude. In the Gospelsi are recorded the call of the 
Twelve Apostles and the recital of the extraordinary 
powers and authority committed to them by Our Lord 
Jesus Christ. It is in the Acts of the Apostles chiefly 
and from the other books of the New Testament in a 
lesser degree that we must study the growth and develop- 
ment of the Church and its officers. Upon these Apostolic 
writings then, and from legitimate inferences drawn from 
the same, must be based our knowledge of the Threefold 
Ministry under the Apostles. 

The stream of Holy Orders rises to one clear and un- 
mistakable source — the Apostles appointed by Our Lord 
Jesus Christ, in accordance with the will of the Eternal 
Father, and endued with power from on high by the gift 
of the Holy Ghost. The Apostolic College, therefore, con- 
tained in embryo all degrees of the Christian Ministry — 
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. This inherent power mani- 
fested itself, as occasion gave rise, in the development 
of the Church. In those first days after the Ascension 
of Our Lord, when the infant Church gathered in that 
upper room in Jerusalem (^^the number of the names to- 
gether were about one hundred and twenty," Acts I, 15), 
the eleven remaining Apostles comprised the entire Min- 
istry of the Church. 

Their first official act, as we know, was the restoration 

228 



THE MINISTRY UNDER THE APOSTLES 229 

of the Apostolic College to the numbeT of twelve by the 
election of Matthias to take the place of the traitor Judas. 
^^And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon 
Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles." 
Acts I, 26. Shortly thereafter, when the Day of Pente- 
cost was fully come, the restored and completed Apostolate 
received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and was thereby fully 
equipped to begin its Divine Mission of reconciling the 
souls of men to God through Jesus Christ Our Lord. 

In that first formative period the Twelve found in 
their own Ministry all that was necessary in their work 
of ^^adding to the Church daily such as should be saved." 
Acts II, 47. At first there were no Dioceses, or Par- 
ishes, not even church buildings in the ordinary sense of 
that term. The common Diocese of the Apostles was 
Jerusalem and the surrounding region. The members 
of the infant Church ^%ad all things in common and great 
grace was upon them all. As many as were possessors of 
lands or houses sold them, and brought the price of the 
things that were sold, and laid them down at the Apostles' 
feet: and distribution was made unto every man accord- 
ing as he had need." Acts lY, 33-35. 

As was to be expected in the difficult work of inaugurat- 
ing a new religion, great and extraordinary powers ac- 
companied the efforts of the Apostles in the exercise of 
their Ministry. ^^By the hands of the Apostles were 
many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and 
believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both 
of men and women. There came also a multitude out 
of the cities round about unto Jerusalem bringing sick 
folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits, 
and they were healed every one." Acts V, 12-16. The 
fame of these things spread far and wide, preparing the 
way for fresh conversions. In the absence of church 
buildings of their own, the Apostles ^^daily in the temple, 
and in every house, ceased not to teach and preach Jesus 
Ghrist."^ Acts V, 42. 



230 UNITY AND KOME 

The young and growing Church had now reached a 
point, owing to the increase of her members, when the 
Apostles for the first time exercised the power given 
them by Our Lord to increase and differentiate the Orders 
of the Sacred Ministry by ordaining suitable men for the 
special work committed unto them. The first extension of 
the Ministry by the Apostles was through Ordination to 
the Order of Deacons. 

^^In those days, when the number of the disciples was 
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians 
against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected 
in the daily ministration. Then the Twelve called the 
multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, ^It is not 
reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve 
tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven 
men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, 
whom we may appoint over this business. But we will 
give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry 
of the word.' And the saying pleased the whole multitude : 
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the 
Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, 
and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas a proselyte of 
Antioch; whom they set before the Apostles; and when 
they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And 
the word of God increased and the number of the disciples 
multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of 
the priests were obedient to the faith." Acts VI, 1-7. 
Two essential principles were exemplified in this procedure 
of the early Church — election by the people and the laying 
on of hands by the Apostles in order that the Holy Ghost 
might be conveyed for the grace of the Ministry. 

After the death of Stephen, the first martyr, "there was 
a great persecution against the Church which was at Jeru- 
salem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the 
regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the Apostles. 
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every- 
where preaching the word.'' Acts VIII, 1-4. This per- 



THE MINISTRY UNDER THE APOSTI.ES 231 

secution proved to be a blessing in disguise, resulting in a 
wider dissemination of the Gospel. ^^Then Philip went 
down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto 
them/^ And the Apostles, ^Vhen they had testified and 
preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, 
and preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samari- 
tans.'' The ministry of Philip was used again in a provi- 
dential way for the further spread of the Kingdom — this 
time in the conversion of ''a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch 
of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethi- 
opians, who had charge of all her treasure, and had come 
to Jerusalem for to worship.'' Acts VIII, 5, 25, 27. In 
this way the good news of the coming of Christ was carried 
into Africa. 

At this point occurred the first modification of the origi- 
nal plan of the Ministry, as founded upon and proceeding 
from the Twelve Apostles. As it was, however, by the 
direct call and appointment of Christ, the Church has 
always accepted it as a part of the plan of the Divine Head 
of the Church. The zealous and enthusiastic young Jew, 
Saul of Tarsus, ^^yet breathing out threatenings and 
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the 
high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus to the 
synagogues, that if he found any of this way, he might 
bring them bound unto Jerusalem." Acts IX, 2. 

To Saul Our Lord vouchsafed a vision of Himself and 
called him, as a chosen vessel unto Himself, to become the 
Apostle to the Gentiles. After receiving his sight and 
being baptized by Ananias, Saul of Tarsus, now become 
Paul the Apostle, "straightway preached Christ in the 
synagogues, that He is the Son of God." Acts IX, 20. 
After this first preaching at Damascus, Paul came to Jeru- 
salem and "assayed to join himself to the disciples; but 
they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was 
a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to 
the Apostles, and declared unto them" how he had seen 
the Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him, 



232 UNITY AND ROME 

and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name 
of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going 
out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of 
the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the GrecianSj but 
they went about to slay him.'' Acts IX, 26-29. The 
brethren, learning this, brought him down to Csesarea, 
and sent him forth to Tarsus. 

About this time Saint Peter extended his ministry to 
Lydda and Joppa, the latter place being on the sea-coast. 
A little later, being sent for by Cornelius, a centurion 
of the band called the Italian band, he went north along 
the coast to Csesarea. As the messengers of Cornelius were 
on the way. Our Lord made it known unto Peter by means 
of a heavenly vision that no longer any difference was 
to be made between Jew and Gentile. The chief of the 
Apostles, therefore, was able to declare unto Cornelius, 
^^God hath shewed me that I should not call any man 
common or unclean." Acts X, 28. This declaration unto 
Peter of the will of Christ was most momentous in shap- 
ing the future policy of the Church. Henceforth Saint 
Peter and his Apostolic colleagues knew the plan of Al- 
mighty God to include all the peoples of the earth in 
the blessings of the Gospel. "And they of the circum- 
cision which believed were astonished, as many as came 
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured 
out the gift of the Holy Ghost.'' Acts X, 45. 

Tip to this time those that were scattered abroad fol- 
lowing the persecution that arose about Stephen, though 
they traveled as far as Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, 
"preached the word to none but unto Jews only." Acts 
XI, 19. To Antioch— destined to become a great center 
of church life^ — came converts from Cyprus and Cyrene, 
who preached to the Grecians — Jews who spoke Greek — 
and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. 
This new and promising field at Antioch was regarded as 
so important by the mother Church at Jerusalem that 
the Apostles sent Barnabas there. The labors of the latter 



THE MINISTRY UNDEK THE APOSTXES 233 

were so fruitful that he went to Tarsus after a time to 
seek Paul, and the two ^^for a whole year assembled them- 
selves with the church and taught much people. And the 
disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Acts 
XI, 26. 

It was at Antioch also that the occasional and extraor- 
dinary function of prophecy appeared for the first time, 
but it does not seem to have been at all a distinct degree 
of the Christian Ministry requiring ordination as such. 
These prophets were either ordained men with the addi- 
tional gift of occasional prophecy, or laymen whose share 
in the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit manifested 
itself here and there in the form of prophecy. "And in 
those days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. 
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and sig- 
nified by the spirit that there should be great dearth 
throughout all the world : which came to pass in the days 
of Claudius Csesar.'' Acts XI, 27-28. 

The Christians in Antioch determined to send relief 
to their brethren in Judaea, which they did by the hands 
of Barnabas and Paul, to the elders at Jerusalem. This 
was the first of those alms-bearing journeys of Saint Paul 
and illustrates both the mutual charity of the Apostolic 
church and a necessary function of the Christian Min- 
istry. 

Within three years after this the Church at Jerusalem 
fell on evil ways. In the year 44 A.D. Herod the king 
killed James the brother of John with the sword, thus mak- 
ing the first martyr among the Apostles and the first break 
in the Apostolic College since the Day of Pentecost. The 
death of James the brother of John led to a new and 
highly significant development of the Church's Ministry. 
This was no less than the establishment of the Episcopate, 
as distinguished from the Apostleship itself, by the ap- 
pointment of James, "the Lord's Brother," to be Bishop 
of Jerusalem. This James was either the son of Joseph 
by a former marriage or the son of Clopas, the brother 



234 UNITY AND ROME 

of Joseph, according to ancient tradition. This was the 
James, who presided at the Council of Jerusalem in the 
year 50 and it was doubtless the reverence shown to all 
the members of the family of the Lord — according to the 
flesh — that allowed James to play so prominent a part in 
this Council, as there was no doubt in the early Church 
about the preeminence of the Apostles or the Primacy of 
Saint Peter among his brethren. It was the same rever- 
ence for ^^the brethren of the Lord" which led to the choice 
of Symeon, the son of Clopas, as the second Bishop of 
Jerusalem after the martyrdom of James, ^Hhe Just." As 
illustrating the predominant Jewish character of the 
Church at this period, tradition tells us that the first thir- 
teen ^ishops of Jerusalem were all converts from Juda- 
ism. 

Saint Peter was cast into prison, in the persecution 
which Herod instituted to vex certain of the Church, but 
was delivered by the miraculous intervention of an angel. 
. . . After his release the Chief of the Apostles went pres- 
ently to Antioch where he labored for a while. Ancient 
writers tell us that Saint Peter then installed Evodius 
as the first Bishop of Antioch, whose successor was the 
famous Ignatius of Antioch. According to tradition. Saint 
Peter next established Christianity in northern Asia Minor 
later visiting Athens and Corinth on his way to Rome, 
where he ended his Apostolic career by a glorious martyr- 
dom along with Saint Paul some time between the years 
60 and TO A.D. 

To retrace our steps somewhat^ — the Judaizing element, 
when it saw the increasing number of Gentile Christian 
converts, was moved with envy and insisted that the latter 
must receive the rite of circumcision. This issue led to 
the Council of Jerusalem in 50 A.D. Saint Peter made 
the principal speech, but Saint James presided as bishop 
of that city, and out of honor to ^^the Lord's brother." 
The decision of the Council was ^^it seemed good to the 
Holy Ghost and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden 



THE MINISTRY UNDER THE APOSTXES 235 

than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats 
offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, 
and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, 
ye shall do well. Fare ye well.'' Acts XV, 28, 29. 

Not long after the Council, according to tradition, the 
Apostles divided the countries of the known world among 
them, and set forth to convert the nations of the earth. 

The introduction of the names of John Mark and Silas 
into the narrative of the work of the Apostolic Church 
leads very naturally to the consideration of the part played 
by all that group of Apostolical men, whose names are 
mentioned as fellow-workers of the Twelve Apostles and 
of Saint Paul. ISTowhere in the 'New Testament is there 
a distinctive, outstanding instance of the establishment of 
the second Order of the Sacred Ministry — the Priesthood 
— as is the case in the institution of the Diaconate and 
of the Episcopate. Rather it seems to be taken as under- 
stood that as the Church grew and congregations were 
established in different and often widely separated places 
that the Apostles chose and laid hands upon fit men to 
continue ^^the breaking of bread and the prayers'' in obedi- 
ence to the Lord's command. * It was manifestly impossible 
for the Apostles to minister personally to a rapidly in- 
creasing and scattered Church. On the other hand there 
are numerous passages in the Acts and in the Epistles, 
as for example the charge of Saint Paul to the Elders of 
Ephesus on his last journey to Jerusalem — recorded in 
the twentieth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles^ — ^which 
take for granted that a fully equipped Ministry has been 
established in those places where the Apostles themselves 
had laid the foundations. 

According to tradition "the Seventy," who along with 
the Apostles shared the signal honor of being sent forth 
by the Lord — although of course with an authority very 
much Tower — all became Bishops. Hippolytus has pre- 
served for us the complete list of their names and of the 
Dioceses over which they presided. It is highly probable 



236 UNITY AISTD EOME 

that all or most of them were present in the upper room 
at Jerusalem and received the Holy Ghost on the Day 
of Pentecost. It is likely that the Apostles laid hands 
upon them but even if they did not, the call and sending 
of "the Seventy'' by Our Lord and their subsequent re- 
ception of the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Ghost 
constitute a consecration to the Episcopate than which 
there could be none higher or possessing greater validity. 

There is nothing detrimental to the highest Order of 
the Ministry if, as was likely the case, the Episcopate 
and Priesthood were blended and exercised in the early 
Church in many cases by the same persons. The pioneer 
character of the Church in those first years, the as yet 
shifting and undetermined diocesan boundaries, made it 
indeed necessary that those Apostolical Ministers should 
be "all things to all men in order that they might save 
some." Then again it must be remembered that the early 
Church was still in process of formation in much that 
affected its ecclesiastical organization. It is a vastly dif- 
ferent thing for the Church to be led into all truth by the 
Spirit of Truth — a gradual process — from having that 
truth burst all at once in a flood of light. It is entirely 
reasonable to believe that the Apostles themselves — par- 
ticularly in the first stages of the Church's growth — ^had 
no adequate conception of the ultimate world-wide develop- 
ment of a highly organized Ministry and Hierarchy, as 
we know it to-day, but the language of the New Testament, 
supported by the uniform practice of the Church in every 
place in the age immediately following, can scarcely be 
accounted for on any other basis than Apostolic teaching 
and use of the Threefold Ministry. The saving clause in 
all this is that the Church was under the guidance of the 
Holy Ghost and that the Apostleship of the Twelve con- 
tained within itself all possibilities of authority and func- 
tion, which were in the Divine mind of Our Blessed Lord 
when He founded the Church. 

Those words of Christ, "All power is given unto Me 



THE MINISTRY UNDER THE APOSTXES 237 

in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all 
nations'' (St. Matthew XXVIII, 18, 19) embrace a very 
wide and sweeping Commission — than which none conld 
be higher — containing full power to meet every future 
need of the Church. The Apostles in all likelihood were 
better than they knew and their delegated authority pos- 
sessed potentialities which would only be realized when 
the Church came into its own, and the crudities of Apos- 
tolic plantings blossomed forth into the ripened perfection 
of the Catholic Church. Then, too, the early belief among 
the Apostles that ^^the kingdom of heaven was at hand" 
may have had a natural influence upon their provisions 
for the future of the Church, but even granting this in 
the earlier years of their Apostolic labors there is abun- 
dant evidence that Saint Peter and Saint Paul came to 
realize that the Lord's second coming was to be in the 
indefinite future and they along with the other Apostles 
made due provision for the Church and the continuance of 
the Sacred Ministry. 

Unquestionably Saint Paul consecrated Timothy to be 
Bishop of Ephesus and what he did in Timothy's case he 
undoubtedly did with Titus in making him Bishop of 
Crete. Bishop Gore in ^^Orders and Unity," after quoting 
St. Paul's language to Timothy, "Stir up the gift of God 
which is in thee — the spirit of power and love and disci- 
pline — ^which is in thee through the laying on of my 
hands," goes on to say, "Again he tells the presbyters at 
Ephesus doubtless outwardly appointed, that ^the Holy 
Ghost made them Bishops.' Thus already in the language 
of the 'New Testament the sacramental phraseology is in- 
disputably present." (Page 108.) 

"And when they had ordained them elders in every 
church," writes Saint Luke in Acts XIV, 23. And Saint 
Paul himself says in his first epistle to the Corinthians 
(VII, 17), "And so I ordain in all the churches," thus 
stating very clearly that his teaching and his conduct of 
what may be called ecclesiastical affairs was not any in- 



238 UI^ITY AND EOMB 

different or haphazard arrangement, but was carried out 
upon a uniform plan obligatory upon all the Apostles 
and definitely understood by them to be of Divine sanction. 

Even if Timothy and Titus were not Diocesan Bishops 
of Ephesus and Crete respectively but were, as Bishop 
Lightfoot maintains, regionary Bishops with a roving com- 
mission, that does not invalidate the fact that Saint Paul 
and Saint Peter and all the Apostles — for the Apostolic 
practice was uniform — did ordain and consecrate men by 
the laying on of hands, conveying thereby a peculiar gift 
and grace and power, for the office and work of a Bishop 
in the Church of God. Because perhaps often the same 
man worked as Bishop and Presbyter in the new-bom 
Church, and though each town and Christian community 
had its body of Elders — all of them Presbyters but one 
of them being in addition the President of the local 
Church with the right and delegated authority to ordain 
other men to the Diaconate and to the Priesthood — this 
does not preclude future development and the ultimate pre- 
rogatives of the Episcopate. This primitive condition of 
the early Church, if it did exist, does not militate against 
the unvaried practice of the Catholic Church in every 
age to have a Threefold Ministry and to regard this Min- 
istry as of Divine warrant and coming by an unbroken 
succession from the Apostles down to our own day. 

According to ancient tradition Saint John after his 
release from Patmos used the time up to the end of his 
long life in setting the churches in Asia Minor in order, 
seeing that every place had its Bishop, Presbyters, and 
Deacons, and was surely established in the Apostolic faith 
and practice. Perhaps Our Blessed Lord — foreseeing this 
very need of His young and growing Church — spared the 
Beloved Disciple for this perfecting of the work of his 
Apostolic brethren. Saint John's work and influence may 
have extended, and probably did, to the other churches in 
Asia and quite possibly was not unfelt across the -^gean in 
Macedonia and Greece. The Holy Ghost was leading tho 



THE MINISTEY UNDER THE APOSTLES 239 

Church then — as ever — and the Threefold Ministry of 
the Church, incipient, feeling its way at first, but always 
possessing within itself the potentiality for full fruition, 
was established certainly in principle and in all probability 
also in actual practice by the time^ — about 97 A.D. — that 
the last of Apostles rejoined the Lord by Whom he was 
especially beloved. 



CHAPTER III 

THE MINISTRY IH THE SUB-APOSTOLIC AGE 

BISHOP LIGHTFOOT states in his essay on "The 
Christian Ministry" that "history shows decisively 
that the Threefold Ministry was established throughout 
the Church by the year 150 A.D./' and there is conclusive 
evidence to show that his statement is correct. Strictly 
speaking the Sub- Apostolic Age extends from the death 
of the last Apostle, Saint John, to the last quarter of the 
second century — approximately from 97 to 180 A.D., the 
date of Irenseus, the famous Bishop of Lyons. The writers 
of this period, called the Apostolic Fathers, are few in 
number, but their language regarding the Sacred Ministry 
is wonderfully clear and strong — one might say providen- 
tially so. They tell us of conditions existing in the 
Church directly following that set forth by Saint Paul 
in the Pastoral Epistles and they represent the Ministry, 
as then constituted, not as something new, forced or 
extraordinary, but as the natural, legitimate and altogether 
to be expected outcome of "continuing steadfastly in the 
Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of the 
bread, and in the prayers." 

In "Orders and Unity,'' Bishop Gore speaks of the sit- 
uation when the Pastoral Epistles were written as follows, 
"The church in the Pastoral Epistles is seen preparing 
itself to perpetuate the ministry of Christ, ... we find 
in the church a general and a local ministry. The general 
ministry — ^which represents the original and central 
authority in the church — consists of the Apostles and their 
delegates, perhaps known as evangelists, who, though su- 
pervising for the time a church or group of churches — 

240 



THE MINISTRY IIT THE SUB-APOSTOLIO AGE 241 

Ephesus or the churches of Crete — do not belong to those 
churches, but represent the common Apostolic control over 
all churches alike. The local ministry consists of presby- 
ters, also called ^bishops/ and deacons. 

"A great deal has been written on the question of the 
identity of the bishops and presbyters. No one who reads 
the Pastoral Epistles, or the Epistle of Clement, can doubt 
that the names indicate practically the same officers. But 
it is probable that the presbytery was, among the Chris- 
tians as the Jews, the general name for the governing body 
in any community, while the name bishop (superintendent) 
described the function of the local officer individually. 
Probably when an Apostle or Apostolic delegate was in 
any community he would have been reckoned as one of 
the presbyters, though he was an Apostle, or evangelist, 
and not a bishop. When later the bishop's title was 
transferred to the single president of the church, he was 
still frequently reckoned among the presbyters. . . . 
Practically we must recognize that the presbyters and the 
bishops of the local church are the same persons. Saint 
Paul can address the presbyters of Ephesus as those whom 
the Holy Ghost hath made bishops ; and he can tell Titus 
to choose presbyters carefully, because the bishop must be 
blameless; and Clement can speak of presbyters as hold- 
ing the bishop's office. . . . 

"The question now before us is how this state of the min- 
istry passes into that which is familiar in church his- 
tory, where there is no general ministry, but every church 
is governed by a single chief officer, called the bishop, with 
presbyters and deacons." (Pp. 115, 116, 117.) 

Let us see what the Apostolic Fathers say regarding 
the Ministry in their day, beginning with Saint Clement 
of Eome, who according to tradition was the fellow-laborer 
of Saint Paul, mentioned in Philippians IV, 3. He was 
the Bishop of Eome — probably in the last decade of the 
first century — and is believed to have been the third in 
succession from Saint Peter and Saint Paul, being pre- 



242 UNITY AND ROME 

ceded by Linus and Cletus (Anacletus, or Anencletus). 
The quotation is from his famous Epistle to the Corin- 
thians — so highly regarded by the early Church that it 
was for some years read in church along with the writings 
of the New Testament. 

^^The Apostles received the Gospel for us from the 
Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ was sent forth from God. 
So then Christ is from God, and the Apostles are from 
Christ. Both therefore came of the will of God in the 
appointed order. Having therefore received a charge, and 
having been fully assured through the resurrection of our 
Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the word of God with 
full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth with the 
glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come. So 
preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed 
their first fruits, when they had proved them by the Spirit, 
to be bishops and deacons unto them that should believe. 
And this they did in no new fashion; for indeed it had 
been written concerning bishops and deacons from very 
ancient times; for thus saith the scripture in a certain 
place, I will appoint their bishops in righteousness and 
their deacons in peace. 

"And our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ 
that there would be strife over the name of the bishop's 
ofiice. For this cause therefore, having received complete 
foreknowledge, they appointed the aforesaid persons, and 
afterwards they provided a continuance, that if these 
should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed to 
their ministration. Those therefore who were appointed 
by them, or afterward by other men of repute with the 
consent of the whole Church, and have ministered un- 
blameably to the flock of Christ in lowliness of mind, 
peacefully and with all modesty, for long time have borne 
a good report with all — these men we consider to be un- 
justly thrust out from their ministration. For it will be 
no light sin for us, if we thrust out those who have offered 
the gifts of the bishop's office unblameably and holily. 



THE MINISTRY IIS THE SUB-APOSTOLIC AGE 243 

Blessed are those presbyters who have gone before, seeing 
that their departure was fruitful and ripe ; for they have 
no fear lest any one should remove them from their ap- 
pointed place. For we see that ye have displaced certain 
persons, though they were living honorably, from the min- 
istration which had been respected by them blamelessly.'^ 
Clemens Eomanus, Ad Cor. XLII, XLIV. Date assigned 
to this writing is 90 A.D. 

In these noble words of Saint Clement of Rome the doc- 
trine of the Holy Catholic Church regarding the Sacred 
Ministry is undoubtedly taught. ISTo man is to take upon 
himself any holy function unless he has been duly or- 
dained and consecrated by the Apostles or by those in true 
succession to the Apostles. If there should be any re- 
maining doubt in the minds of any regarding the meaning 
of this language of Saint Clement, that doubt should be 
dispelled by interpreting him through a fellow Bishop, 
who was alive in his day and wrote only fifteen or twenty 
years later. Saint Ignatius of Antioch. Although one was 
in Syria and the other in Rome, the underlying doctrine 
regarding the Ministry must have been the same with both 
^ — even granting that under Saint John's wise guidance 
monepiscopacy may have reached an earlier fruition in 
Asia, which has been claimed by some but not certainly 
proved. Saint Peter, Evodius, Ignatius — the chain has 
few links, is very strong and direct. It is Ignatius, the 
friend of Polycarp — the saintly Bishop of Smyrna and 
pupil of Saint John — who speaks to us but let us read 
his own words. 

"When ye are obedient to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, 
it is evident to me that ye are living not after men but 
after Jesus Christ. ... It is therefore necessary, even as 
your wont is, that ye should do nothing without the bishop ; 
but be obedient to the presbytery, as to the Apostles. . . . 
And those likewise who are deacons of the mysteries of 
Jesus Christ must please all men in all ways. For they 
are not deacons of meats and drinks but servants of the 



244 UNITY AND EOME 

churcli of God. It is right therefore that they should 
beware of blame as of fire. In like manner let all men 
respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, even as they should 
respect the bishop as being a type of the Father and the 
presbyters as the council of God and as the college of 
Apostles. Apart from these there is not even the name of 
a church. 

^This will surely be, if ye be not puffed up and if 
ye be inseparable from Jesus Christ, and from the bishop 
and from the ordinances of the Apostles. He that is within 
the sanctuary is clean ; but he that is without the sanctuary 
is not clean, that is, he that doeth aught without the bishop 
and presbytery and deacons, this man is not clean in his 
conscience. 

"Fare ye well in Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves 
to the bishop as to the commandment, and likewise also to 
the presbytery." Ad Trail. 2, 3, Y, 13. 

^^As many as are of God and of Jesus Christ, they 
are with the bishop ; and as many as shall repent and enter 
into the unity of the Church, these also shall be of God. 
... Be not deceived, my brethren, if any man f oUoweth 
one that maketh a schism, he doth not inherit the kingdom 
of God. If any man walketh in strange doctrine, he hath 
no fellowship with the passion. Be ye careful therefore 
to observe one eucharist, for there is one flesh of our Lord 
Jesus Christ and one cup unto union in His blood ; there 
is one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the 
presbytery and the deacons my fellow-servants.'' (Ad 
Philad. 3, 4.) 

"Shun divisions, as the beginning of evils. Do ye all 
follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, 
and the presbyters as the Apostles; and to the deacons 
pay respect, as to God's commandment. Let no man do 
aught of things pertaining to the church apart from the 
bishop. Let that be held a valid eucharist which is under 
the bishop or one to whom he shall have committed it. 
Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people 



THE MINISTRY IN THE SUB-APOSTOLIC AGE 245 

be, even as where Jesus may be, there is the universal 
church. It is not lav^ful apart from the bishop either to 
baptize or to hold a love-feast ; but whatever he shall ap- 
prove, this is well-pleasing also to God; that everything 
which ye do may be sure and valid. 

"It is good to recognize God and the bishop. He that 
honoreth the bishop is honored of God; he that doeth 
aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth serv- 
ice to the devil." (Ad Smyrn. 8, 9.) 

Bishop Lightfoot renders this language of Ignatius, 
"Without these three orders no church has a title to the 
name." And again he comments, "The reference of these 
words is doubtless to the institution of episcopacy." Even 
Harnack says, "The epistles (of Ignatius) show the mon- 
archical episcopate so firmly rooted, so highly elevated 
above all other ofiices, so completely beyond dispute" . . . 
etc. (Expositor, Jan. 1886, p. 16.) Ignatius himself 
in his epistle to the Ephesians speaks of the bishops as 
established "in the farthest part of the earth." When it 
is remembered that Saint Ignatius wrote his seven epistles 
on his way to Rome to a dearly coveted martyrdom, that 
their date is undoubtedly between 110-117, and their 
authenticity is unquestioned by the best scholarship, the 
strength of this testimony, so closely linked to the Apostles 
themselves, will be accepted at its full value. KTowhere in 
Ignatius' Epistles is there any mention of Christians 
credited with personal charismata, nor is there any word 
of local or itinerant prophets such as we find in the Apos- 
tolic period. 

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who was born of Christian 
parents about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
was the pupil of Saint John and the friend of Ignatius. 
The latter halted at Smyrna on his way to martyrdom 
and in his letters to the Churches of Ephesus and Mag- 
nesia speaks of the comfort Polycarp is to him and from 
Troas writes not only to the Church of Smyrna but to 
Polycarp personally. It is natural to suppose that fellow- 



246 U]VriTY AND ROME 

bishops and friends were at one in Catholic faith and prac- 
tice. Let us quote a few extracts from the Epistle of 
Polycarp to the Philippians to see if this is so. The 
salutation of the Epistle begins, ^Tolycarp, and the pres- 
byters with hinij to the Church of God sojourning at 
Philippi.^^ In chapter five on ^The Duties of Deacons, 
Youths, and Virgins/' we read, ^^In like manner should 
the deacons be blameless before the face of His righteous- 
ness, as being the servants of God and Christ." In the 
sixth chapter on ^^The Duties of Presbyters and Others,'^ 
he says, "Let the presbyters be compassionate and merci- 
ful to all, bringing back those that wander," etc. In 
chapter nine he writes as follows, "I exhort you all, there- 
fore, to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and 
to exercise all patience, such as ye have seen before your 
eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosi- 
mus, and Rufus, but also in others among yourselves, and 
in Paul himself, and the rest of the Apostles." In the 
passages quoted there is clear evidence of three things^ — 
a bishop surrounded by his presbyters and deacons, that 
the belief of Polycarp and his practice agreed with the 
views of Ignatius on the threefold ministry as carrying 
on the tradition of the Apostles. In chapter eleven Poly- 
carp says of the erring presbyter Valens, "I am greatly 
grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, 
because he so little understands the place that was given 
him (in the Church)." Here is plainly inferred the depo- 
sition of an unworthy presbyter by his Bishop and his 
possible restoration following amendment of life is set 
forth later in the same chapter. One more quotation from 
the noble Polycarp and we will pass on. In the twelfth 
chapter, "Concerning the Transmission of Epistles," he 
writes, "Both you and Ignatius wrote to me. . . . The 
Epistles of Ignatius written by him to us, and all the 
rest (of his Epistles) which we have by us, we have sent 
to you, as you requested. They are subjoined to this 
Epistle, and by them ye may be greatly profited ; for they 



THE MINISTRY IN THE SUB-APOSTOLIC AGE 247 

treat of faith and patience, and all things that tend to edi- 
fication in our Lord. Any more certain information you 
may have obtained respecting both Ignatius himself, and 
those that were with him, have the goodness to make known 
to us.'' Here is full endorsement of the teaching of Ig- 
natius regarding the threefold ministry and the evident 
desire on the part of Polycarp that other churches should 
profit by the Ignatian Epistles — so rich in valuable doc- 
trine, so eminently correct according to Catholic tradition. 

There is nothing in the Epistle of Barnabas — ^whether 
it w^as written by the Apostle Barnabas as is asserted by 
all the early writers beginning with Clement of Alexandria 
or by some other Barnabas as some claim the general tone 
and internal evidence of the Epistle show — which bears 
upon the subject of the threefold ministry. The date of 
the Epistle is uncertain — ranging anywhere from YO A.D. 
to 130. 

The next writer to be quoted is Hermas of whom the 
Muratori fragment of the canon speaks as follows: 
^^Hermas composed the Shepherd very lately in our times 
in the city of Rome, while the Bishop Pius, his brother, 
occupied the chair of the Roman Church; and it ought 
therefore indeed to be read, but it can never be publicly 
used in the church, either among the prophets, or the 
Apostles.'' This fixes the date of its composition as be- 
tween 130 and 140 A.D. Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, 
and Origen speak with respect of the Shepherd of Hermas. 
In Vision Third occurs the following passage — ^^Hear 
now with regard to the stones which are in the building. 
Those square white stones which fitted exactly into each 
other are Apostles, bishops, teachers, and deacons, who 
have lived in godly purity, and have acted as bishops 
and teachers and deacons chastely and reverently to the 
elect of God, some of them having fallen asleep, and some 
being still alive. And they have always agreed with each 
other, and been at peace among themselves, and listened to 
each other. On account of this, they join exactly into 



24:8 UNITY AND ROME 

the building of the tower.'' Elsewhere he explains, ^The 
tower is the Church." Again he says, ^^Now, as to the 
other stones which you saw cast far away from the tower, 
and falling upon the public road and rolling from it into 
pathless places: they are those who have indeed believed 
but through doubt have abandoned the true road. Think- 
ing, then, that they could find a better, they wander and 
become wretched, and enter upon pathless places." 

In the passages quoted Hermas clearly sets forth the 
threefold ministry, bishops, teachers (presbyters), and 
deacons, under the leadership of Apostles, or chief bishops. 
He asserts their agreement in catholic faith and practice, 
and the condition of those who separate themselves from 
the faith and unity of the Church. 

Of Papias, bishop of Hieropolis, and friend of Poly- 
carp, who is the last writer classed with the four Apostolic 
fathers — Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, and Bar- 
nabas — unfortunately we have only the few fragments of 
his ^^Expositions of the Oracles of the Lord," recorded by 
Eusebius, quoting Irenseus. These fragments do not refer 
to the ministry in detail but undoubtedly this neighboring 
bishop of Polycarp — and his friend — held the same faith 
and was in entire agreement in ecclesiastical policy with 
his fellow-bishops in Christ's Holy Catholic Church — 
and this the more because he enjoyed the great advantage 
of converse with Apostolic men, notably Aristion and the 
presbyter John, also, with the daughters of Philip the 
Evangelist. Papias wrote about 130-150 A.D. 

There is nothing bearing directly on the threefold min- 
istry in the Epistle to Diognetus, whose date probably lies 
between 125 and 175 A.D. — of uncertain authorship but 
ascribed at different times to Justin, ApoUos, Quadratus, 
Aristides, and Marcion. The same holds true of the Chris- 
tian apologists of this period — Justin Martyr, Melito 
(fragmentary), Athenagoras. 

We conclude our study of the sub-apostolic age by re- 
ferring to Hegesippus, the earliest of the Church's chroni- 



THE MINISTRY IN THE SUB-APOSTOLIC AGE 249 

clers, whose date is 170 A.D. Only a few fragments of 
this writer are preserved for ns in Eusebius, whom we 
quote Hist. EccL, IV^ 22. "On my arrival at Eome, I 
drew up a list of the succession of bishops down to Anicetus, 
whose deacon was Eleutherus. To Anicetus succeeded 
Soter, and after him came Eleutherus. But in the case 
of every succession, and in every city, the state of affairs 
is in accordance with the teaching of the law and of the 
Prophets and of the Lord." 

Evidently there is no doubt in the mind of Hegesippus, 
who writes with the easy certainty of a man expressing a 
generally accepted truth. It was in 151 A.D. that Poly- 
carp, the fellow-bishop of Ignatius, visited Anicetus, bishop 
of Rome, and Hegesippus wrote of this same Anicetus, 
bringing the succession down to him and even later. 

Whatever blending of the Episcopate and Presbyterate 
there may have been in the Apostolic Period, there can 
be no reasonable doubt that the three Orders of the Sacred 
Ministry, Bishops, Priests^ and Deacons, were fully rec- 
ognized in the period now under consideration and their 
functions were on the way, if not already, to the clear-cut 
differentiation which became the norm of the threefold 
ministry throughout the Universal Church. 



CHAPTEE IV 

THE MINISTRY FROM IREI^^US TO CYPRIAN 

THE period now to be considered covers the compara- 
tively brief stretch, of time extending from 180 to 
250 A.D. The years are now few in number, but they 
witness a significant development in the awakened mind 
of the Church regarding the Episcopal Office. It is no 
longer a question of the Ministry — established in three 
Orders — Bishop Lightfoot admits that was a historical 
fact from at least the middle of the second century. It 
is a question now of final definition of function of the 
three Orders and preeminently the place and powers of 
the ruling Order, the Episcopate. 

In the Epistles of Ignatius we see the Bishop clearly 
manifested as the center of ecclesiastical unity. ^^ Apart 
from the Bishop, the presbytery, and the deacons, there 
is not even the name of a church.'' It is for the very 
existence of the Church that Ignatius is contending, that 
is, her true and lawful existence, as founded by Our Lord 
Jesus Christ upon the Apostles and by the Apostles in turn 
upon their successors— the Bishops. 

Two generations later, roughly speaking, we pass from 
that first stern, splendid assertion of Apostolic origin and 
continuity to the declaration of that catholic principle, 
which found its fiower in the pronouncement of the Nicene 
Bishops regarding ^^the Faith once for all delivered to 
the saints." But let Irenseus speak for himself. We 
quote from his work ^^Against Heresies," the date of which 
was A.D. 182-188. 

"The Church, although scattered through the whole 
world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from 

250 



THE MINISTRY FEOM IREN^US TO CYPKIAN 251 

the Apostles and their disciples this faith : In one God the 
Father Almighty, who made heaven and earth, and the 
sea, and all things therin; and in one Christ Jesus the 
Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation ; and in 
the Holy Ghost who through the prophets preached the 
dispensations and advents, and the birth from a virgin, 
and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and 
the bodily assumption into heaven of the beloved Christ 
Jesus our Lord, and his appearing from heaven in the 
glory of the Father to gather all things together in one, 
and to raise up all flesh of all mankind, in order that 
to Christ Jesus our Lord and God and Saviour and King, 
according to the pleasure of the Father invisible, every 
knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth 
and things under the earth, and every tongue should con- 
fess to him, and that he should execute righteous judg- 
ment upon all.'^ (I, X, I.) 

In this introductory quotation from Irenseus we begin to 
see the second step upward in the conception which the 
Bishops of the early Church had of their sacred office. 
The Ignatian idea of the Episcopate as ^'the center of 
ecclesiastical unity" enlarges itself in the writings of 
Irenseus, who presents the Episcopate as "the depositary 
of Apostolic tradition.'' Eusebius says of Irenseus that 
his writings make it clear that he stood in immediate re- 
lations to the Apostles — if not born, at least educated in 
Asia Minor, where in boyhood he listened to the instruc- 
tions of Polycarp. Irenseus was born about A.D. 130 
and became Bishop of Lyons following Pothinus, who is 
said by Gregory of Tours to have been sent out by Poly- 
carp. But let us see further what this great Father of 
the Early Church has to say regarding the Ministry. 

"But since it would be tedious in such a volume as this 
to enumerate the successions of all the churches, by point- 
ing out that tradition derived from the Apostles of the 
very great and very ancient and universally known church 
established and organized at Rome by the two most glorious 



252 UJSriTY AND HOME 

Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as the faith annoimced to 
mankind which comes down even to us through the suc- 
cession of the bishops, we shall confound all those who, 
in whatsoever manner, whether from self-complacency or 
from vainglory or from blindness and perverse opinions, 
assemble beyond where it is fitting. With this church, 
on account of its more distinguished precedence, it is un- 
avoidable that there should be an agreement on the part 
of all the churches — that is, of believers everywhere, 
wherein the tradition emanating from the Apostles has 
been preserved by believers everywhere.'^ (HI? iii? 2.) 

Irenseus speaks of the Order of presbyters as follows: 
^^Wherefore it is fitting to obey the presbyters, who are 
in the church, those who have the succession from the 
Apostles, as we have shown; who, with the succession of 
the episcopate, have received the certain gift of the truth, 
according to the pleasure of the Father; but to hold in 
suspicion the rest who depart from the primitive succes- 
sion, and assemble in any place whatsoever, either as here- 
tics and of perverse opinion, or as schismatics, puffed up 
and self -pleasing, or again as hypocrites, doing this for the 
sake of advantage and of vainglory. For all these have 
fallen away from the truth.'' (IV, xxvi, 2.) 

Of the Order of Bishops he writes again in particular 
as follows : "True knowledge is the doctrine of the Apostles, 
and the ancient constitution of the church throughout the 
world ; and the true impress of the body of Christ, accord- 
ing to the successions of the bishops, by which they have 
handed down that church which is in every place; which 
(knowledge) has come to us, preserved without any forg- 
ing of writings, as a most complete system, neither re- 
ceiving addition nor abatement; etc. (IV, xxxiii, 8.) 

How strong the testimony of Irenseus is and how close 
he stood to the Apostles of Him, Who was the Way, the 
Truth, and the Life, may be seen from his Letter to 
Florinus. 

"For when I was yet a boy I saw thee in Lower Asia 



THE MINISTEY FROM IRENJEUS TO CYPRIAN 253 

■with Polycarp, distinguishing thyself at court and endeav- 
oring to gain his esteem. For I remember the events of 
those times better than those occurring lately (since the 
studies of our youth growing with our mind become 
incorporated with it) ; so that I am able to tell even the 
place in which the blessed Polycarp was accustomed to 
sit and discourse — also his going out and his coming in — 
and the complexion of his life, and the form of his body, 
together with the conversations v^hich he held with the 
people; also how he would speak of his familiar inter- 
course with John, and with the rest of those who had seen 
the Lord ; how also he used to recount their words. What- 
soever things he had heard from them concerning the Lord, 
also concerning his miracles and his teaching, Polycarp, 
as receiving them from the eye-witnesses of the Word of 
life, related all in harmony with the Scriptures. These 
things, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to me, I 
then heard, noting them down, not upon paper but in my 
heart; and continually by the grace of God I recall these 
things accurately to my mind. And I am able to bear 
witness in the sight of God. . . .'' 

This is the testimony of the great Irenseus, of whom 
Gore says, "The idea of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, 
due to St. Irenseus, had already formed a bond of union 
under a common authoritative Creed. Now, the Churches 
become one great confederation of societies in a unity which 
found expression in ecumenical councils with their com- 
mon authority. Gradually, meanwhile, the hierarchical 
gradations amongst the various bishops develop on the lines 
of the imperial system." ("The Church and the Minis- 
try,'' p. 48.) 

We pass next to Hippolytus, bishop of Portus at the 
mouth of the Tiber, and as a member of the Roman pres- 
bytery acquainted with the interior life of the Roman 
Church itself. He was a pupil of Irenseus, had doubtless 
met and conversed with Origen, before whom, Jerome says, 
he preached, when the latter visited Rome in 211. Hip- 



254 UN^ITY AND ROME 

polytus does not speak in particular of the Ministry in his 
extant writings but in the introduction to his great work 
'^The Refutation of All Heresies/' he lines up, as might 
be expected, with Bishops and Fathers who do, by assert- 
ing the necessity of following in all things the Apostolic 
tradition. 

^^But none will refute these, save the Holy Spirit be- 
queathed unto the Church, which the Apostles, having in 
the first instance received, have transmitted to those who 
have rightly believed. But we, as being their successors, 
and as participators in this grace of high-priesthood, and 
office of teaching, as well as being reputed guardians of 
the Church, must not be found deficient in vigilance, or 
disposed to suppress correct doctrine.'^ 

We pass over for the time being the so-called Canons 
of Hippolytus, which embody in shortened form the eighth 
book of the Greek version of the Apostolical Constitutions. 

Clement of Alexandria, the pupil of the great Pantsenus 
and his successor as the head of the famous Catechetical 
School at Alexandria — whose pupil Origen was — refers 
distinctly to the threefold ministry in his work, the ^^Stro- 
mata'' or ^^Miscellanies.'' We quote from the sixth book, 
whose date is approximately 190 A.D. 

^^Not that they become Apostles through being chosen 
for some distinguished peculiarity of nature, since also 
Judas was chosen along with them. But they were capa- 
ble of becoming Apostles on being chosen by Him Who fore- 
sees even ultimate issues. Matthias, accordingly, who 
was not chosen along with them, on showing himself 
worthy of becoming an Apostle, is substituted for Judas.'' 

^^Those, then, also now, who have exercised themselves in 
the Lord's commandments, and lived perfectly and gnosti- 
cally according to the Gospel, may be enrolled in the chosen 
body of Apostles. Such an one is in reality a presbyter of 
the Church, and a true minister (deacon) of the will of 
God, if he do and teach what is the Lord's ; not as being 
ordained by men, nor regarded righteous because a pres- 



THE MIN^ISTKY FROM IREN^US TO CYPRIAN 255 

byter but enrolled in tbe presbyterate because righteous. 
And although here upon earth he be not honored with 
the chief seat, he will sit down on the four-and-twenty 
thrones, judging the people, as says John in the Apoca- 
lypse. 

^Tor, in truth, the covenant of salvation, reaching down 
to us from the foundation of the world, through different 
generations and times, is one, though conceived as differ- 
ent in respect of gift. For it follows that there is one un- 
changeable gift of salvation given by one God, through one 
Lord, benefiting in many ways. . . . And the chosen of 
the chosen are those who by reason of perfect knowledge 
are called (as the best from the Church itself) and honored 
with the most august glory — the judges and rulers — four- 
and-twenty (the grace being doubled) equally from Jews 
and Greeks. Since, according to my opinion, the grades 
here in the Church, of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, 
are imitations of the angelic glory, and of that economy 
which, the scriptures say, awaits those who, following 
the footsteps of the Apostles, have lived in perfection of 
righteousness according to the Gospel. For these taken 
up in the clouds, the Apostle writes, will first minister 
(as deacons), then be classed in the presbyterate, by pro- 
motion in glory (for glory differs from glory) till they 
grow into a ^perfect man.' '' (Stromata, Book VI, Chap- 
ter XIII.) 

In the writings of Origen, the greatest Christian mind 
of the ante-Nicene age, are numerous passages referring 
directly to the Orders of the Ministry. Only in Augustine, 
and scarcely in him, was his equal to be found in the entire 
early Church. The fact that Alexander, Bishop of Jerusa- 
lem, ordained Origen a presbyter after the latter lost the 
favor of his own Bishop, Demetrius of Alexandria, and 
the high repute in which he was held — except in Eome 
and Alexandria at the time — as a theologian are convinc- 
ing additional proofs that Origen was sound in his doc- 
trine regarding the Ministry. 



256 UNITY AND ROME 

111 Origen's Commentaries on the Gospels and in his 
'^Contra Celsum^^ he clearly distinguishes the three Orders 
of the Ministry. ^^He conceives the bishop of his day to 
be the bishop of whose qualifications St. Paul instructs us 
in Matt. XI, 15; XIV, 22; c. Gels. Ill, 48. Also he 
speaks of bishops as the immemorial tradition in the 
Church ; he speaks of people who have to boast of fathers 
and ancestors, calling attention to the honor due to the 
episcopal throne and to the dignity of the presbytery and 
to the ministry of the diaconate. And as he singles out 
^stability' as a note of the Church — when Alexandria is 
especially mentioned among other churches — he is clearly 
not conscious of any change in the Church's constitution 
which is going on. Nor does his language at all suggest 
that the episcopate of Alexandria was in a peculiar posi 
tion, as Jerome would have us believe, through the pres- 
byters electing one of their number bishop and he becom- 
ing such without consecration by other bishops, c. Gels. 
Ill, 30.^' (Gore, '^Christian Ministry,'' p. 128.) 

We are not able to cite from the surviving writing of 
Gregory Thaumaturgus — ^the last of the Greek writers 
referred to in this thesis — any concrete testimony bearing 
upon the subject in hand, but his well-known orthodoxy in 
the faith generally is presumptive evidence that he was 
orthodox regarding the Ministry also. 

The church of IsTorth Africa furnished to Christianity 
the first of the Latin Fathers in the person of Tertullian, 
followed by the illustrious names of Cyprian and Augus- 
tine of Hippo. The first two belong to this period, were 
intensely Eoman and may be regarded as the leading ex- 
ponents of Latin Christianity. Cyprian was accustomed 
to call Tertullian his master and Jerome relates that 
Cyprian had his works read to him daily and used to 
say, ^^Give me my master." In the writings of Cyprian 
we shall find a third and momentous declaration regarding 
the Episcopate, but let Tertullian speak first : 

"Christianity is a definite thing, and, having believed, 



THE MINISTItY FROM IREIST^TIS TO CYPRIAN 257 

one has found, and must cease his search, save within the 
bounds of the rules of faith.'^ 'To know nothing opposed 
to the rule (of faith), is to know everything." ^'Heretics 
should not be allowed the use of the Scriptures in argu- 
ment, since they do not belong to them. They are rather 
to be admonished by us, for they mutilate and distort the 
Scriptures. Nor are we to appeal to Scriptures in dis- 
cussing with them, but to our possession of the rules of 
faith. The faith was delivered by Christ to the Apostles ; 
by them to the churches which they founded, from which 
churches all other churches derive the tradition of the 
faith. Only that teaching which is so derived is true. 
Nothing was withheld from the Apostles, from Peter, who 
was 'called the ''rock on which the church should be 
built,'' who also obtained "the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven,'' ' nor did the Apostles withhold a part of the 
truth committed to them. The whole truth was in all cases 
delivered to the whole church. The churches, again, did 
not lose the faith so intrusted, but they still hold it, and 
everywhere it is the same. . . . Their ordinations (that 
is, of the heretics) are inconsiderate, trivial, changeable. 
. . . Thus to-day one man is bishop, to-morrow another; 
to-day he is a deacon who to-morrow is a reader, to-day 
a presbyter who to-morrow is a layman. For even on 
laymen do they impose priestly functions." ("Prescrip- 
tion Against Heretics," Chap. 41.) 

"For the law of baptizing has been imposed, and the 
form prescribed. 'Go,' he said, 'teach the nations, bap- 
tizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son 
and of the Holy Ghost.'" (Chap. 13.) "Of giving it 
(baptism) the chief priest, who is the bishop, has the 
right; then presbyters and deacons, not, however, without 
the authority of the bishop, on account of the honor of 
the church, which being preserved, peace is preserved. 
Besides, even the laity possess the right. . . . But h®w 
much more is the discipline of reverence and modesty 
incumbent upon laymen — since these things pertain to their 



258 UNITY AND EOME 

superiors — forbidding them to assume to themselves the 
function assigned to the bishop ! Emulation of the epis- 
copal office is the mother of schism." (Chap. 18.) 
Treatise on Baptism. 

Cyprian makes the Bishop ^Hhe absolute vicegerent of 
Christ'' and as the proconsul thought of his province as 
other than a part of a great whole, v^hose center was on 
the banks of the Tiber, so Cyprian thought of the African 
Church as an integral part of the one universal Christian 
body, and to his Roman mind where else could be the 
center of a world-wide power if not at Rome? Still the 
bishop was as devoutly Christian as he was stoutly Roman, 
and for what he deems the proper church government he 
seeks an Apostolic constitution. This he finds (^^Treatise 
on the Unity of the Church") in the charge to Peter — 
^^1 say unto thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock 
I will build my church" — and in the common tradition 
that the Apostle thus honored was the first bishop of the 
church in Rome. As the successor of Peter, the bishop 
of the imperial city was to rank as ^'primus inter pares" 
with respect to all other bishops, and so as the head of 
the church catholic. In like manner the bishop of the 
governing city of a province was to be first among his 
episcopal brethren. (Jackson, ^^The Fathers of the Third 
Century," pp. 159, 160.) 

Bishops — neither before nor after — have so magnified 
the office of bishop as Cyprian of Carthage. Bom in 200 
A.D. — a man of wealth and position — ^he was converted 
in 246, but as Pontius the Deacon, who wrote his life and 
passion, says, ^^the doings of a man should not be reckoned 
from any other point, except from the time that he was 
born of God." Cyprian was so highly thought of that 
he was ordained to the priesthood the year of his con- 
version and consecrated bishop two years later in 248. 
As he attained martyrdom in 258, all his great work as 
bishop and writer was accomplished in the brief space of 
ten years. 



THE MINISTRY FROM IREN^EUS TO CYPRIAN 259 

Cyprian^ in Epistle 37, to the lapsed, writes that ^^the 
Church is founded upon the bishops, and every act of the 
Church is controlled by these same rules.'' 

In Epistle 46 — written to congratulate Cornelius, Bishop 
of Rome, that the schismatic presbyter Maximus and Ur- 
banus, with the confessors Sidonius and Macarius have re- 
entered the Catholic Church, says, '' 'We/ they say, ^rec- 
ognize Cornelius as elected bishop of the most holy Catholic 
Church by Almighty God and by our Lord Jesus Christ. 
We confess our error. . . . For we are not ignorant that 
there is one God, one Christ, the Lord whom we confess, 
one Holy Spirit and that there ought to be one bishop 
in the Catholic Church.' " 

In Epistle 55, he says, "After these things, moreover, 
they still dare — a false bishop having been made for them 
by heretics — to set sail and to bring letters from profane 
and schismatic persons to the throne of Peter, and to 
the most distinguished church, whence arises the priestly 
unity; and not to reflect that those are Romans whose 
faith was praised by the preaching of the Apostles, to 
whom perfidy can gain no access," etc. 

Cyprian, in his famous treatise "On the Unity of the 
Church," says, "The Lord speaks to Peter and says: 
^Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be 
bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on 
earth shall be loosed in heaven.' (St. Matt. XVI, 18, 19.) 
And again he says to the same after his resurrection, 
Teed my sheep.' And, although, after the resurrection, 
he gives equal power to all the Apostles, and says, ^As the 
Father hath sent me, I also send you: Receive the Holy 
Ghost: If ye remit the sins of any one, they shall be 
remitted; if ye retain (the sins), they shall be retained'; 
still, that he might set forth a unity, byhis own authority 
lie determined the origin of that unity, as beginning from 



260 UNITY AND ROME 

one. What Peter was^ that assuredly were also the other 
Apostles, endowed with a like partnership of honor and of 
power; but the beginning proceeds from unity, that the 
Church of Christ might be shown as one; which one 
church also, in the Song of Songs, the Holy Spirit, in the 
person of the Lord, designates and says: ^My dove, my 
undefiled, is one; she is the only one of her mother, she 
is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw 
her; the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.' 
(Cant. VI, 9.) Does he who does not hold to this unity 
of the church think that he holds the faith? Does he 
who opposes and resists the church trust that he is in the 
church? when also the blessed Apostle Paul teaches this 
same thing, and makes known the sacrament of unity, say- 
ing: ^One body and one spirit, one hope of your calling, 
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.' " (Chap. 4.) 
We shall make reference to but one more testimony 
bearing upon this period and use the language of Eeverend 
George A. Jackson in his ^^The Fathers of the Third Cen- 
tury." ^^JSTovatian, a Roman presbyter, caused a schism 
in the church on the question of admitting the lapsed to 
communion. His party was distinguished by the strict- 
ness of their discipline, calling themselves Hhe pure.' 
Eusebius has preserved parts of a letter concerning this 
leader, written by Cornelius of Pome to Pabius of Antioch. 
It inveighs against the schismatic with no little bitterness, 
charging him with abandoning the Church of God, with 
procuring his consecration to the episcopate in an unlawful 
manner, and with requiring of his followers an oath that 
they would not desert him and return to Cornelius. Allud- 
ing to the constitution of the church at Pome at that time, 
the writer says: ^This asserter of the gospel then did not 
know that there should be but one bishop in a catholic 
church. In which, however, he well knew that there were 
forty-six presbyters, seven deacons, seven sub-deacons, 
forty-two acoluthi (acolytes), exorcists, readers, and jani- 
tors, in all fifty-two, widows, with the afflicted and needy, 



THE MINISTRY FROM IREN^US TO CYPRIAN 261 

more than fifteen hundred; all which the goodness and 
love of God doth support and nourish.' '' (Pp. 208, 209.) 
These splendid and plain-spoken testimonies of Cyprian, 
Tertullian, Cornelius, and their fellow bishops and pres- 
byters — Fathers of the early Church — are unmistakable 
and unshakable. We are content to cast our lot in with 
theirs and to make their faith our faith. 



CHAPTER V 

THE MINISTRY IN CANONS, COUNCILS, LITURGIES, ANCIENT 
ORDINALS, AND CONSTITUTIONS 

CONCLUSION 

AT least from the time of Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, 
the contemporary of Cyprian, the Ministry of the 
Church was further differentiated and added to by the 
institution of the Minor Orders. The Council of Neo- 
caesarea in 315 A.D. — out of deference to the Apostolic 
precedent^ — limited the number of Deacons to a city at 
seven and Subdeacons were authorized to relieve the situ- 
ation. The latter together with Acolytes, Exorcists, 
Readers, and Porters — appended to the three essential 
Major Orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons — are a 
proof that the threefold ministry was unquestioned 
throughout the Church as of Apostolic origin and divine 
warrant. It had been for some time a matter of elabora- 
tion of the ecclesiastical organization for practical needs 
— not a matter of doubt or dispute regarding the original 
constitution of the Ministry in three Orders by the Apos- 
tles. 

The ministry of women was used in the Church from 
Apostolic days in labors of love but their office — such 
as it was — ^was not considered as a step or degree in Holy 
Orders. These Deaconesses, or church widows, were set 
apart — ^not ordained — and under St. Paul's ruling, "Let 
the woman keep silence in church,'' they had no part in 
the official services of the Church. 

In point of time the 38 so-called Canons of Hippolytus 
emerge first from the distant past as witnesses of this 
character regarding the Church's Faith and Order. If 

262 



% 



THE MINISTRY IN CANONS 263 

they are not the authentic production of Hippolytus, they 
at least date not later than the beginning of the third 
century and are of Roman origin. Since the church was 
still using the Greek language, they lie at the basis of 
the Greek ritual of ordination. (Gore, ^The Christian 
Ministry/^ p. 132.) We quote from them as follows : 

''Let the bishop be chosen by all the people. . . . Then 
when all the people are silent, after the confession, let 
them all pray for him, saying: ^O God, strengthen then 
this man whom Thou hast prepared for us.' Afterwards 
let one be chosen from among the bishops and presbyters 
to lay his hand upon his head and pray, saying: ^O God 
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... do Thou now 
look upon N, thy servant, giving to him Thy power and 
the effectual Spirit; which Thou didst give to Thy holy 
Apostle through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, 
to those who founded the Church in every place, to the 
honor and glory of Thy holy name. . . . Grant to him 
also, O Lord, the office of a bishop and a spirit of gentle- 
ness, and power to forgive sins ; and give to him authority 
to loose all the chains of the iniquity of evil spirits, and 
to heal all diseases, and to bruise Satan under his feet 
quickly, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom 
be glory to Thee and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. 
Amen.' After that let them all turn to him — the newly- 
made bishop — giving him the kiss of peace for he deserves 
this. And let the deacon bring the oblations, and let him 
who has been made bishop lay his hand on the oblations 
with the presbyters, saying: ^The Lord be with you all.' 
Then after the reply ^And with thy spirit,' and the Sur- 
sum Corda, he is to continue the celebration of the eucha- 
rist to the end. And he is to bless the oil (if there be any) 
and the offerings of food and fruits of the earth. 

^^But if a presbyter is ordained, everything shall be 
done with him as with a bishop, except that he shall not 
take his seat upon the throne. But the -whole of the same 
prayer shall be prayed over him as over the bishop, with 



264 UNITY AND ROME 

the single exception of the name of the bishop's office. 
The bishop is in all respects to be on the same level with 
the presbyter, except in the matter of the throne and in 
ordination, for the power of ordaining is not granted to 
him/' 

The deacon also is to be ordained by the bishop with 
a laying-on of hands and prayer — ^to the effect that he may 
be granted the Holy Spirit in the same manner as was 
Stephen. The deacon is to serve the bishop and pres- 
byter in all things, not only at the time of the eucharist, 
but to minister to the sick and poor, and to report their 
names to the bishop. The higher functions of preaching 
and teaching are reserved to the two higher orders, in- 
cluding of course the peculiar duties of the priesthood. 

The next documents in order of time are the Egyptian 
Church Ordinances, the Syrian Apostolical Constitutions 
and the recently discovered Prayers of Bishop Serapion 
of Thmuis (c. 350), a friend of St. Athanasius. To these 
may be added the work of the Syrian pseudo-Dionysius, 
^^On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy," — probably dating from 
the end of the fifth century — also the ancient oriental 
offices of ordinations of uncertain date and some medieval 
commentaries on the ancient rites, such as that of Symeon 
of Thessalonica. (See Gore, ^The Christian Ministry," 
p. 131, and following pages.) 

We are not concerned with the vague canons regarding 
confession in times of persecution as rendering the con- 
fessors virtually entitled to a place in the Sacred Ministry. 
At least they are rare and exceptional cases and do not 
interfere with nor override the regular and orderly ad- 
ministration of Holy Orders as practiced throughout the 
Catholic Church and as based strictly upon Apostolic 
faith and practice. 

The Apostolic Constitutions and the Apostolical Canons 
— two distinct works — are undoubtedly in part of ancient 
and sub- Apostolic origin. In all probability they represent 
the gradual accretion and crystallization in concrete form 



THE MINISTRY IN CANONS 265 

of the practical experience of the Church in the early 
centuries and are based in essence upon Apostolic teaching 
and tradition. In them and in the Canons of the General 
Councils, we find four principles emerging into the clear 
light of Catholic belief and practice: (1) bishops only 
can ordain; (2) the independence of the priesthood in the 
pastoral relation; (3) the increasing emphasis laid upon 
the sacerdotal character of the validly ordained; and 
(4) the indelibility of Orders — once a priest, always a 
priest. From the last-named principle and resting upon 
the highest theology flows the related truth, that the un- 
worthiness of the minister does not invalidate nor impair 
the efficacy of the Sacrament to the recipient. This prin- 
ciple applies of course to Holy Orders. On the other hand 
the validly ordained, while retaining power to celebrate 
the sacraments as a spiritual function in his personal 
capacity, may lose — ^through schism or deposition by law- 
ful authority for cause — ^the right to exercise his minis- 
terial functions in an official and public capacity. 

When we enter the period of the General Councils, the 
Church presents itself with an ecclesiastical organization 
giving every evidence of universal acceptance and Apos- 
tolic origin. The threefold ministry lies at the very root 
of all conciliar proceedings, including the Canons put forth 
by the Councils. In fact the Sacred Ministry in the three 
Orders — ^bishops, priests, and deacons — is so unquestioned 
that any other idea of the ministry appears to have been 
inconceivable to the mind of the Church in the great con- 
ciliar period of its existence. The General Councils had 
absolutely no doubt of the threefold character of the Apos- 
tolic ministry. They were rather concerned with the de- 
velopments and elaboration of that ministry — the resulting 
niceties of ecclesiastical relations, such as questions of 
honor and precedence among the Patriarchs and Metropol- 
itans, the rights and prerogatives of Bishops, the delimita- 
tions of Dioceses, and in general the regulation of the 
relationships and canonical rights of every grade of the 



266 UNITY AND ROME 

Ministry. It is unnecessary to quote particular Canons of 
Ecumenical Councils, whose entire proceedings point all 
one way. It is proper, however, to say that the testimony 
of the Councils is a tremendous and irrefutable argument 
in favor of the Apostolic sanction of the threefold min- 
istry. 

The Divine Liturgy of James, the Holy Apostle and 
Brother of the Lord ; the Divine Liturgy of the Holy Apos- 
tle and Evangelist Mark, the Disciple of Holy Peter; the 
Liturgy of the Blessed Apostle (composed by St. Adseus 
and St. Maris, Teachers of the Easterns) ; the Malabar 
Liturgy; the Gallican and Mozarabic Liturgies; the Lit- 
urgy of St. Chrysostom; the Clementine Liturgy (used 
at Rome and elsewhere in the West), are the voice of 
the early Church in its most solemn act of worship. The 
definite parts and oflScial language assigned to the Priest 
and Deacon in the one Service instituted by our Blessed 
Lord bear unmistakable witness to the existence and func- 
tions of these sacred ministers throughout the universal 
Church. The Priests and Deacons referred to in the Early 
Liturgies presupposed ordination by a Bishop and are again 
a further proof, if one were necessary, of the three Orders 
of the Ministry. In the Liturgy of St. Mark occurs the 
direction, addressed to the people, "Pray for the papas and 
the bishops." (The word "papas" refers to the Patriarch 
of Alexandria.) The title was at first applied to all the 
Patriarchs, but later became restricted to the Bishop of 
Home. 

It is not pleasant or edifying to a believer in the Holy 
Catholic Church to turn from the evidence — unbroken 
and overwhelming — of the Christian centuries at the be- 
ginning and nearest to the source of light and truth to 
the theories of protestant reformers of the sixteenth and 
succeeding centuries. One can understand how men— - 
finding themselves without bishops to ordain and continue 
the Apostolic succession — should resort to other devices 
and theories of the ministry and the authority of the 



THE MIlSriSTRY IN CANONS 2G7 

church. It was natural and convenient for them to do so, 
but it was not right and the resulting divisions and chaos 
in the protestant world are gradually under the influence, 
we trust, of the Holy Ghost making them realize their 
mistake. 

We shall content ourselves at this time and place with 
a quotation from Thomas M. Lindsay in his '^History of 
the Eeformation,'^ pp. 400, 401. What he says is an 
example of what all protestant writers say to bolster up 
the position in which they find themselves. We desire 
to maintain perfect Christian charity for our protestant 
brethren as individuals. It is against their mistaken the- 
ory of the Church and its Ministry that we feel bound 
in conscience to take issue. The quotation follows: 

^^The primary and cardinal doctrine, which was the 
foundation of everything, was the spiritual priesthood of 
all believers. This, he (Luther) believed, implied that 
preaching, dispensing the sacraments, ecclesiastical dis- 
cipline, and so forth were not the exclusive possession 
of a special caste of men to whom they had been committed 
by God, and who therefore were mediators between God 
and man. These divine duties belonged to the whole 
community as a fellowship of believing men and women ; 
but as a division of labor was necessary, and as each indi- 
vidual Christian cannot undertake such duties without 
disorder ensuing, the community must seek out and set 
apart certain of its members to perform them in its 
name. 

^^The second conception was that secular government 
is an ordinance ordained of God, and that the special 
rule claimed by the Roman Pontiff over things secular 
and sacred was a usurpation of the powers committed by 
God to the secular authority. This Luther understood to 
mean that the Christian magistracy might well represent 
the Christian community of believers, and in its name or 
associated with it, undertake the organization and super- 
intendence of the Church civic or territorial." 



268 UNITY AND ROME 

We are not arguing for the temporal power of the Pope 
nor for anything Roman as distinguished from Catholic, 
but with regard to the whole protestant position we prefer 
the evidence of Holy Writ, as exemplified by Apostolic 
and sub-Apostolic practice. We prefer, too, and in fact 
feel safer in so doing, to take our stand with Athanasius, 
his friend Bishop Serapion, Basil, ^^the holy'' Gregory 
JSTazianzen, Epiphanius, and St. John Chrysostom, as ex- 
ponents of the faith and practice of the Catholic Church, 
rather than to trust the leadership and ecclesiastical polity 
of Luther, Calvin, John Knox, and the differing array 
of protestant innovators, who enjoy, in our judgment, the 
doubtful advantage of appearing some fifteen hundred 
years too late upon the scene to overturn the work of 
those, who were eye-witnesses of the Divine Founder of 
the Church and were appointed and empowered by Him 
to carry on His Church to the end of the world and were 
assured by Him that the gates of hell should not prevail 
against it. 

^^The things which thou hast heard of me among many 
witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who 
shall be able to teach others also.'' (II Tim. II, 2.) 

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying. All 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go 
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world. Amen." (St. Matt. XXVIII, 
18-20.) 

"Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you: 
as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And 
when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto 
them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye 
remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins 
ye retain, they are retained." (St. John XX, 21-23.) 

^^But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou 



THE MINISTRY IK CANONS 269 

oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which 
is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground 
of the truth.'' (I Tim. Ill, 15.) 

^^Howbeit v^hen he/ the Spirit of truth, is come, he will 
guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself ; 
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and 
he will shew you things to come.'' (St. John XVI, 13.) 

^^And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doc- 
trine and fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread, and 
in the prayers." (Acts II, 42.) 

Upon this warrant of the New Testament, containing 
the words of our Blessed Lord Himself and His chosen 
Apostles, supported by the writings of the Fathers, and 
by the universal practice of the Holy Catholic Church from 
the beginning, we rest our defense, our confidence, and our 
belief in the Threefold Ministry. 



THE END 



I 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: March 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry TownfihiD PA Ifi066 
(724) 779-21 1 ' 



\ 



